How is the development of the number of asbestos victims with mesothelioma in the Netherlands? Information on this can be found on the website of the Asbestos Victims Institute (IAS), where the results of the IAS Monitor are published. The figures from the IAS Monitor Mesothelioma have recently been updated with the figures from the Dutch Cancer Registry for 2013 and part of the IAS figures for 2014. In summary, these figures show that in the Netherlands in 2013 more than 500 people were diagnosed with mesothelioma got. Almost 90% of them were male and more than three-quarters above 65 at the time the diagnosis was made. By far the largest part, exposure in the work is the cause of the disease.
If the development is examined in more detail, the following 5 points stand out.
1. The number of people with annual mesothelioma has been around 500 per year since 2005.
If we take a closer look at the period 1989-2013, we can see that until 2005 there is an increase in absolute numbers from 274 in 1982 to 502 in 2005. After that, this number stabilizes around 500 annually. From a decrease, also in 2013 , is unfortunately still not there. Percentarily (the relative numbers) there has been a slight decrease in recent years. The incidence among women is about eight times lower than among men.
2. The average age at which people get the disease mesothelioma is increasing. The increase is mainly in the proportion of 65- to 84-year-olds.
This is a trend that has been going on for years. Why is it like that? A possible explanation is that people generally get older. Another explanation is that the latency time is getting longer and longer under the influence of limitations in use (size) and application (type of work and product). The more intensive the exposure, the shorter the latency time and vice versa.
3. Against the national trend, the incidence in Zeeland and South Holland decreases. These are provinces where in the past there was a lot of shipbuilding .
Looking at the regional figures shows that the incidence in Zeeland and South Holland decreases compared to the national average. This has to do with the closure of most shipyards in the seventies. Many (former) employees with mesothelioma are now deceased. The more national application of asbestos afterwards also translates into a larger incidence in the other regions.
4. The development of new treatments still has no positive effect on the average time that mesothelioma patients still live after diagnosis
For years it has been seen that a quarter of patients die within three months of diagnosis and two-thirds within a year. This despite worldwide medical research into the development and treatment of mesothelioma.
5. The proportion of younger (65 min) mesothelioma patients is higher among women than among men.
One explanation is that women are younger on average when the diagnosis is made. They have also worked relatively less in specific asbestos risk professions. For this reason, women are overrepresented in the TNS scheme.
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