A case-control study of 60 subjects who succumbed to pleural mesothelioma and a control group of 120 subjects, dead from other causes, was carried out to determine how many dockyard workers were present in each group, and to study the effect of cigarette smoking. Accurate data was obtained on the working and smoking habits for 68.3% of the subjects. The connection between pleural mesothelioma and dockyard work was confirmed (relative risk 13.06%) while no relation was found between smoking and incidence of pleural mesothelioma when professional exposure to asbestos was evaluated.
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