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Mesothelioma Frequency

Does gender or age make a difference?

The most recent report on the mortality rate of mesothelioma published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified significant differences in the frequency of mesothelioma deaths among major groups of the U.S. population.

The CDC studied more than 18,000 deaths from malignant mesothelioma from 1999 through 2005. Four times as many deaths occurred among men than among women. And the distribution of deaths among various age groups was disproportionately tilted to older victims. These findings raise questions about whether and why certain groups seem more susceptible to the disease.

Mesothelioma in men vs. mesothelioma in women

Mesothelioma in men occurs more than four times as frequently as mesothelioma in women, with 80.8 percent of the deaths during this period reported among males. The CDC figures also highlight the fact that mesothelioma results from exposure to asbestos. The highest asbestos exposure is in jobs where people regularly work with asbestos products.

Due to the long latency period, mesothelioma symptoms and deaths occur 30 to 50 years after this exposure. Consequently, large numbers of the deaths in the CDC study can be attributed to the victims’ work histories in high-risk trades such as:

  • Auto repair
  • Construction
  • Textile work
  • Shipyard work
  • Railroad work
  • Manufacturing jobs

From the 1940s to the 1970s, when the asbestos exposure resulting in these deaths occurred, the vast majority of workers in these trades were male. This explains much of the discrepancy in the rate of mesothelioma in men versus the rate of mesothelioma in women. It was probably due to occupation, not gender.

There are some other differences in mesothelioma rates in men and the mesothelioma rates in women. Even though men are more likely to develop mesothelioma, women are at higher risk of getting mesothelioma of the peritoneum (lining of the abdominal wall) or of the pericardium (lining of the heart). In men, 90.2 percent of cases are in the pleura (lining of the lung), 8.3 percent are in the abdomen, and 1.5 percent are in the heart or genital area. In women, 71.1 percent of cases are in the pleura, 24.3 percent are in the abdomen, and 3.1 percent are in the heart or genital system.

Average age of mesothelioma patients

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) statistics, mesothelioma mortality increases with age:

  • The greatest number of mesothelioma deaths is for people over 75
  • The incidence of mesothelioma is highest for ages 65 through 74
  • Only 1.7 percent of people who die from mesothelioma are under 45 years old

This is not surprising that older people are affected more than younger people.  Asbestos fibers can remain in the lungs for decades before a diagnosis and death from mesothelioma occurs. Most recent victims were probably exposed from the 1940s to the 1970s, when today’s older people worked in asbestos-related industries and lived in asbestos-contaminated buildings.