Abstract
USE OF AGRICULTURAL PESTICIDES AND LUNG CANCER RISK IN THE AGRICULTURAL HEALTH STUDY COHORT
Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), Vol.15(4), pp.S178-S179
07/2004
DOI: 10.1097/00001648-200407000-00473
Abstract
We examined the relationship between 45 widely used agricultural pesticides and lung cancer incidence in a prospective cohort study of 52,395 private pesticide applicators, 4,916 commercial pesticide applicators and 32,347 spouses of farmer applicators from Iowa and North Carolina with no prior history of lung cancer. Data were collected by means of self-administered questionnaires completed at enrollment (1993-1997). Cancer incidence was determined through population-based cancer registries from enrollment through December 31, 2001. A lung cancer standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was computed for the applicator cohort and the spouse cohort separately using cancer incidence data from Iowa and North Carolina. Odds Ratios were computed for individual pesticides. A lung cancer SIR, 0.46 (95% CI, 0.39-0.52) and 0.59 (95% CI, 0.28-1.09) was observed for the AHS private applicators and commercial applicator cohorts respectively. A lung cancer SIR, 0.36 (95% CI, 0.27-0.48) was observed for spouse of private applicators. This significantly lower risk of lung cancer was due, in large part, to a low cigarette smoking prevalence in the cohort. Two commonly used herbicides, metolachlor and pendimethalin (odds ratios for highest vs. non-exposed groups [OR=4.0 (95% CI 1.7-9.3) and OR=3.7 (95% CI 1.4-9.6) respectively]) and two commonly used insecticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon (odds ratios for highest vs. non-exposed groups [OR=1.8 (95% CI 0.97-3.4) and OR=3.1 (95% CI 1.2-7.9) respectively])) showed a significantly increased risk of lung cancer with increasing use of the pesticides and this excess could not be explained by previously identified lung cancer risk factors. Over 50% of all pesticide applicators in the AHS cohort were exposed to at least one of these pesticides, over 10% were exposed to three or more of these pesticides. The spouse of applicators living on the farms where these pesticides were applied did not appear to be at increased risk of lung cancer, although the number of exposed spouse cases is still small.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- USE OF AGRICULTURAL PESTICIDES AND LUNG CANCER RISK IN THE AGRICULTURAL HEALTH STUDY COHORT
- Creators
- Michael C.R Alavanja1Mustafa DosemeciClaudine SamanicJay LubinCharles F LynchCharles KnottJoseph BarkerJane A HoppinDale P SandlerJoseph CobleKent ThomasAaron Blair
- Resource Type
- Abstract
- Publication Details
- Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), Vol.15(4), pp.S178-S179
- DOI
- 10.1097/00001648-200407000-00473
- ISSN
- 1044-3983
- eISSN
- 1531-5487
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 07/2004
- Academic Unit
- Epidemiology
- Record Identifier
- 9984214670002771
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