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A case-control study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and exposure to pesticides

Hardell, Lennart and Eriksson, Mikael LU orcid (1999) In Cancer 85(6). p.1353-1360
Abstract

BACKGROUND. The incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has increased in most Western countries during the last few decades. Immunodefective conditions are established risk factors. In 1981, the authors reported an increased risk for NHL following exposure to certain pesticides. The current study was designed to further elucidate the importance of phenoxyacetic acids and other pesticides in the etiology of NHL. METHODS. A population-based case-control study in northern and middle Sweden encompassing 442 cases and twice as many controls was performed. Exposure data were ascertained by comprehensive questionnaires, and the questionnaires were supplemented by telephone interviews. In total, 404 cases and 741 controls answered the... (More)

BACKGROUND. The incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has increased in most Western countries during the last few decades. Immunodefective conditions are established risk factors. In 1981, the authors reported an increased risk for NHL following exposure to certain pesticides. The current study was designed to further elucidate the importance of phenoxyacetic acids and other pesticides in the etiology of NHL. METHODS. A population-based case-control study in northern and middle Sweden encompassing 442 cases and twice as many controls was performed. Exposure data were ascertained by comprehensive questionnaires, and the questionnaires were supplemented by telephone interviews. In total, 404 cases and 741 controls answered the questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed with the SAS statistical data program. RESULTS. Increased risk for NHL was found for subjects exposed to herbicides (odds ratio [OR], 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0-2.5) and fungicides (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.1-13.0). Among herbicides, the phenoxyacetic acids dominated (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 0.9-2.4); and, when subclassified, one of these, 4-chloro-2-methyl phenoxyacetic acid (MCPA), turned out to be significantly associated with NHL (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.0- 6.9). For several categories of herbicides, it was noted that only exposure during the most recent decades before diagnosis of NHL was associated with an increased risk of NHL. Exposure to impregnating agents and insecticides was, at most, only weakly related to NHL. CONCLUSIONS. Exposure to herbicides in total, including phenoxyacetic acids, during the decades before NHL diagnosis resulted in increased risk for NHL. Thus, the risk following exposure was related to the latency period. Fungicides also increased the risk for NHL when combined, but this group consisted of several different agents, and few subjects were exposed to each type of fungicide.

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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Case-control study, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Pesticides, Phenoxyacetic acids
in
Cancer
volume
85
issue
6
pages
1353 - 1360
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:0033559592
  • pmid:10189142
ISSN
0008-543X
DOI
10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19990315)85:6<1353::AID-CNCR19>3.0.CO;2-1
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ae48abef-c7cf-473e-8ac1-65e1a0f9df69
date added to LUP
2020-02-19 16:28:45
date last changed
2024-03-04 14:32:39
@article{ae48abef-c7cf-473e-8ac1-65e1a0f9df69,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND. The incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has increased in most Western countries during the last few decades. Immunodefective conditions are established risk factors. In 1981, the authors reported an increased risk for NHL following exposure to certain pesticides. The current study was designed to further elucidate the importance of phenoxyacetic acids and other pesticides in the etiology of NHL. METHODS. A population-based case-control study in northern and middle Sweden encompassing 442 cases and twice as many controls was performed. Exposure data were ascertained by comprehensive questionnaires, and the questionnaires were supplemented by telephone interviews. In total, 404 cases and 741 controls answered the questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed with the SAS statistical data program. RESULTS. Increased risk for NHL was found for subjects exposed to herbicides (odds ratio [OR], 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0-2.5) and fungicides (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.1-13.0). Among herbicides, the phenoxyacetic acids dominated (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 0.9-2.4); and, when subclassified, one of these, 4-chloro-2-methyl phenoxyacetic acid (MCPA), turned out to be significantly associated with NHL (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.0- 6.9). For several categories of herbicides, it was noted that only exposure during the most recent decades before diagnosis of NHL was associated with an increased risk of NHL. Exposure to impregnating agents and insecticides was, at most, only weakly related to NHL. CONCLUSIONS. Exposure to herbicides in total, including phenoxyacetic acids, during the decades before NHL diagnosis resulted in increased risk for NHL. Thus, the risk following exposure was related to the latency period. Fungicides also increased the risk for NHL when combined, but this group consisted of several different agents, and few subjects were exposed to each type of fungicide.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hardell, Lennart and Eriksson, Mikael}},
  issn         = {{0008-543X}},
  keywords     = {{Case-control study; Non-Hodgkin lymphoma; Pesticides; Phenoxyacetic acids}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{1353--1360}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Cancer}},
  title        = {{A case-control study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and exposure to pesticides}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19990315)85:6<1353::AID-CNCR19>3.0.CO;2-1}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19990315)85:6<1353::AID-CNCR19>3.0.CO;2-1}},
  volume       = {{85}},
  year         = {{1999}},
}