Case–control study of paternal occupation and childhood leukaemia in Great Britain, 1962–2006

Abstract

Background:Paternal occupational exposures have been proposed as a risk factor for childhood leukaemia. This study investigates possible associations between paternal occupational exposure and childhood leukaemia in Great Britain.Methods:The National Registry of Childhood Tumours provided all cases of childhood leukaemia born and diagnosed in Great Britain between 1962 and 2006. Controls were matched on sex, period of birth and birth registration subdistrict. Fathers' occupations were assigned to 1 or more of 33 exposure groups. Social class was derived from father's occupation at the time of the child's birth.Results:A total of 16 764 cases of childhood leukaemia were ascertained. One exposure group, paternal social contact, was associated with total childhood leukaemia (odds ratio 1.14, 1.05–1.23); this association remained significant when adjusted for social class. The subtypes lymphoid leukaemia (LL) and acute myeloid leukaemia showed increased risk with paternal exposure to social contact before adjustment for social class. Risk of other leukaemias was significantly increased by exposure to electromagnetic fields, persisting after adjustment for social class. For total leukaemia, the risks for exposure to lead and exhaust fumes were significantly <1. Occupationally derived social class was associated with risk of LL, with the risk being increased in the higher social classes.Conclusion:Our results showed some support for a positive association between childhood leukaemia risk and paternal occupation involving social contact. Additionally, LL risk increased with higher paternal occupational social class.

Parental occupational exposure to benzene and the risk of childhood cancer: A census-based cohort study

“…A large case-control study from the UK looking at a wide range of paternal occupational exposures (33 exposure groups) found a negative association between childhood leukaemia and exposure to exhaust fumes (Keegan et al 2012). A pooled analysis of 13 case-control studies participating in the Childhood Leukaemia International Consortium (CLIC) found no evidence of an increased risk of childhood leukaemia associated with occupational exposure to paint, neither for paternal nor maternal exposure (Bailey et al 2014).…”

“…For childhood leukaemia, The majority of more recent studies have also reported increased risks associated with benzene-related occupational exposures, either for paternal (Feychting et al 2001;Metayer et al 2016;Miligi et al 2013;Reid et al 2011) or maternal exposure (Infante-Rivard et al 2005;McKinney et al 2008;Miligi et al 2013;Reid et al 2011;Schuz et al 2000;Shu et al 1999). However, two large recent studies (Bailey et al 2014;Keegan et al 2012), including a study of 5 the Childhood Leukaemia International Consortium (CLIC) focusing on parental occupational exposure to paint (Bailey et al 2014), found no evidence of an association. Most previous studies looked at broad occupational or substance groups while only a minority considered exposure to benzene specifically.…”

Childhood leukemia and residential proximity to industrial and urban sites

“…Investigations of other risk factors, as ionizing radiation (Wakeford et al, 2009), radon (Evrard and Hemon 2005;Tong et al, 2012) or infectious agents (Alexander et al, 1998;Greaves, 2002;Smith et al, 1998), have also indicated increased risk of childhood leukemias. With respect to environmental and parental occupational exposures, several studies have reported risks of leukemias among children whose parents have been occupational exposed to a high level of carcinogenic agents (Perez-Saldivar et al, 2008), pesticides (Ferreira et al, 2013) or involving social contact (Keegan et al, 2012), and some meta-analyses found associations between childhood leukemias and prenatal parental occupational pesticide exposure (Vinson et al, 2011;Wigle et al, 2009). Other exposure to chemicals, as benzene and some volatile organic compounds, has been associated with some type of leukemias (Best et al, 2001;Eden, 2010;Knox, 2005;Steffen et al, 2004), although a review of chemical risk factors and childhood leukemia revealed inconsistent associations (Infante-Rivard, 2008).…”

Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Field (ELF-EMF) and childhood leukemia near transmission lines: a review

“…On the basis of this study, they conclude that the measurements of residential magnetic field exposure misclassify the findings that rely on distance alone. [24], inspects potential of paternal occupational exposure and childhood leukemia in Great Britain. A total of 16764 cases of childhood leukemia were identified.…”

“…The secondary data representation in some analysis is clearly mentioned and estimated trends of magnetic fields as per distance hence it is difficult to neglect no. of samples in their pooled analysis [18][22] [24] [38].…”