North East has one of highest death rates for asbestos cancer

North East has high death rate for asbestos cancer

New figures show North Tyneside and Sunderland were among the areas highest ranked in Great Britain for mesothelioma mortality rates.

The annual figures by the Health and Safety Executive rank regions according to the number of people known to have died from the asbestos-related cancer.

It analysed regional figures for the period 1981 to 2015 based on 45,527 male and 8,054 female deaths. For males, the highest rates for the period as a whole were seen in the North East, South East and Scotland, and for females, the North East, East of England and London.

  • The geographical areas with the highest male mesothelioma death rates and in order of rank within GB were:

  • Barrow-in-Furness (262 deaths, rank 1)

  • West Dunbartonshire (275 deaths, rank 2)

  • North Tyneside (491 deaths, rank 3)

  • South Tyneside (364 deaths, rank 4)

  • Portsmouth (395 deaths, rank 5)

  • Plymouth (534 deaths, rank 6)

  • followed by Medway, Hartlepool, Southampton and Eastleigh.

The results show that areas with the highest excess of mesothelioma in males tend to be those containing industrial sites known to have been associated with asbestos in the past, such as shipyards. However, occupational analyses suggest that asbestos exposures in the construction industry also account for a substantial proportion of mesothelioma deaths.

  • The geographical areas with the highest female mesothelioma death rates and in order of rank within GB were:

  • Barking & Dagenham (82 deaths, rank 1)

  • Sunderland (144 deaths, rank 2)

  • Newham (68 deaths, rank 3)

  • West Dunbartonshire (38 deaths, rank 4)

  • Barrow-in-Furness (27 deaths, rank 5)

  • Leeds (232 deaths, rank 6)

  • followed by Blackburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, Basildon and Medway.

Overall deaths have increased more than 10-fold since the late 1960s when consistent recording in the British Mesothelioma Register began, with a similar pattern for both males and females, though annual male deaths have consistently outnumbered female deaths by around five to one.

The latest projections suggest there will continue to be around 2,500 deaths per year for the rest of this current decade before annual numbers begin to decline.

Leah Taylor, Mesothelioma UK Clinical Nurse Specialist for the North East, commented:

The HSE figures are based on the last area of residence of the deceased. The long latency period of mesothelioma means that individuals may have lived elsewhere when they were exposed to asbestos and moved between areas before the onset of the disease. The areas are ranked using Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMRs) which compare the mortality rate in a particular area with the mortality rate for GB, taking account of age differences.