Asbestos-Related Pleural Plaques and Diffuse Pleural Thickening: Functional Consequences

Asbestos is associated with both pleural plaques and diffuse pleural thickening. While the first condition is believed to be associated with no significant change in lung function, the latter clearly is associated with a decline in lung function. Some of the studies dealing with the functional effects of pleural plaques suffer from radiologic misreading of plaques, inadequate spirometry and inadequate control for the effect of gain in weight on lung function.