Risk assessment of diesel exhaust and lung cancer: combining human and animal studies after adjustment for biases in epidemiological studies

Table 4 Ordinary Sensitivity Analysis for the Wellmann et al. study [19].

RR_smok	Pr ^(r)	I_nonexp	I_exp	bias factor	SMR_adj	95% C.I.
10.7	0.65	7.31I₀	9.15I₀	1.252	1.741	1.286-2.292
12.0	0.65	8.15I₀	10.24I₀	1.256	1.735	1.281-2.284
10.7	0.67	7.50I₀	9.15I₀	1.220	1.787	1.320-2.353
12.0	0.67	8.37I₀	10.24I₀	1.223	1.782	1.316-2.346
10.7	0.69	7.69I₀	9.15I₀	1.189	1.833	1.354-2.414
12.0	0.69	8.59I₀	10.24I₀	1.192	1.829	1.351-2.408
10.7	0.71	7.89I₀	9.15I₀	1.160	1.879	1.388-2.474
12.0	0.71	8.81I₀	10.24I₀	1.162	1.876	1.385-2.469
10.7	0.73	8.08I₀	9.15I₀	1.132	1.926	1.422-2.535
12.0	0.73	9.03I₀	10.24I₀	1.134	1.922	1.420-2.531
10.7	0.75	8.28I₀	9.15I₀	1.105	1.972	1.456-2.596
12.0	0.75	9.25I₀	10.24I₀	1.107	1.969	1.454-2.593
10.7	0.77	8.47I₀	9.15I₀	1.080	2.018	1.490-2.657
12.0	0.77	9.47I₀	10.24I₀	1.081	2.016	1.489-2.654

Adjusted rate ratios for several scenarios about the smoking prevalence in the general population (Pr ^(r)) and assuming a lung cancer RR for ever smokers vs. non-smokers equal to 10.7 or equal to 12 (SMR_obs ^a = 2.18 (95% C.I.: 1.61 - 2.87), smoking prevalence in the occupational cohort 84%).
^a SMR: standardized lung cancer mortality rate comparing (diesel exposed) workers versus the general population (see table 3 for further definitions).

ISSN: 1476-069X