{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T03:56:45Z","timestamp":1760241405091,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,2,6]],"date-time":"2018-02-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1517875200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>With interest, I read the recent analysis by Tomaskova and co-workers (2017) about mortality from coal workers\u2019 pneumoconiosis (CWP). The research question remains unclear whether coal workers\u2019 pneumoconiosis (CWP) resulting from exposure to respirable coal dust containing crystalline silica accelerates the development of lung cancer or whether it is an intermediate stage in the pathway. I made several points of considerations with respect to (1) qualified data; (2) alternate measures for excessive risks; and (3) methodological flaws that should be avoided.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph15020276","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,2,6]],"date-time":"2018-02-06T14:31:17Z","timestamp":1517927477000},"page":"276","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Comment on Tomaskova et al. Mortality in Miners with Coal-Workers\u2019 Pneumoconiosis in the Czech Republic in the Period 1992\u20132013. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2017, 14, 269"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Mei","family":"Yong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Occupational Epidemiology and Risk Assessment (IERA), Evonik Industries AG, Rellinghauser Stra\u00dfe 1-11, 45128 Essen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,2,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tom\u00e1\u0161kov\u00e1, H., \u0160pl\u00edchalov\u00e1, A., \u0160lachtov\u00e1, H., Urban, P., Hajdukov\u00e1, Z., Landeck\u00e1, I., Gromnica, R., Brhel, P., Pelclov\u00e1, D., and Jir\u00e1k, Z. (2017). Mortality in miners with coal-workers\u2019 pneumoconiosis in the Czech Republic in the period 1992\u20132013. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph14030269"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"137","article-title":"Cancer incidence in Czech black coal miners in association with coalworkers\u2019 pneumoconiosis","volume":"25","author":"Urban","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Occup. Med. Environ. Health"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"282","DOI":"10.1097\/JOM.0b013e31820c2bff","article-title":"Respirable crystalline silica exposure-response evaluation of silicosis morbidity and lung cancer mortality in the German porcelain industry cohort","volume":"53","author":"Mundt","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Occup. Environ. Med."},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"575","article-title":"The post mortem external examination: Determination of the cause and manner of death","volume":"107","author":"Madea","year":"2010","journal-title":"Deutsch. Arztebl. Int."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"85","DOI":"10.5271\/sjweh.2720","article-title":"Letter to the Editor: Aspects on confounding in occupational health epidemiology","volume":"4","author":"Axelson","year":"1978","journal-title":"Scand. J. Work Environ. Health"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"384","DOI":"10.1093\/aje\/kwh211","article-title":"Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis and Bayesian analysis of smoking as an unmeasured confounder in a study of silica and lung cancer","volume":"160","author":"Steenland","year":"2004","journal-title":"Am. J. Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Altman, D.G., Machin, D., Bryant, T.N., and Gardner, M.J. (2000). Proportions and their differences. Statistics with Confidence: Confidence Intervals and Statistical Guidelines, BMJ Books. [2nd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1002\/ajim.10082","article-title":"An alternate characterization of hazard in occupational epidemiology: Years of life lost per years worked","volume":"42","author":"Park","year":"2002","journal-title":"Am. J. Ind. Med."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1186\/1742-5573-1-5","article-title":"Years of life lost due to exposure: Causal concepts and empirical shortcomings","volume":"1","author":"Morfeld","year":"2004","journal-title":"Epidemiol. Perspect. Innov."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.1097\/00001648-199403000-00009","article-title":"The evolving concept of the healthy worker survivor effect","volume":"5","author":"Arrighi","year":"1994","journal-title":"Epidemiology"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/15\/2\/276\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T14:53:57Z","timestamp":1760194437000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/15\/2\/276"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2018,2,6]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,2]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph15020276"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph15020276","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"1660-4601"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2018,2,6]]}}}