Exposure to Multiple Pesticides and Risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Men from Six Canadian Provinces

Abstract

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has been linked to several agricultural exposures, including some commonly used pesticides. Although there is a significant body of literature examining the effects of exposure to individual pesticides on NHL, the impact of exposure to multiple pesticides or specific pesticide combinations has not been explored in depth. Data from a six-province Canadian case-control study conducted between 1991 and 1994 were analyzed to investigate the relationship between NHL, the total number of pesticides used and some common pesticide combinations. Cases (n = 513) were identified through hospital records and provincial cancer registries and controls (n = 1,506), frequency matched to cases by age and province of residence, were obtained through provincial health records, telephone listings, or voter lists. In multiple logistic regression analyses, risk of NHL increased with the number of pesticides used. Similar results were obtained in analyses restricted to herbicides, insecticides and several pesticide classes. Odds ratios increased further when only ‘potentially carcinogenic’ pesticides were considered (OR[one pesticide] = 1.30, 95% CI = 0.90–1.88; OR[two to four] = 1.54, CI = 1.11–2.12; OR[five or more] = 1.94, CI = 1.17–3.23). Elevated risks were also found among those reporting use of malathion in combination with several other pesticides. These analyses support and extend previous findings that the risk of NHL increases with the number of pesticides used and some pesticide combinations.

Glyphosate epidemiology expert panel review: a weight of evidence systematic review of the relationship between glyphosate exposure and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or multiple myeloma

“…Also, as shown in Table 4, most studies did not adjust glyphosate risk estimates for potential confounding by other pesticide exposures or relevant medical variables, and only one (Eriksson et al 2008) considered latency period or the time between first (or last) glyphosate exposure and health outcome. Moreover, only one study (Hohenadel et al 2011), considered the possible interaction or effect modification between pairs of commonly used pesticides.…”

Increased cancer burden among pesticide applicators and others due to pesticide exposure

“…46 In yet another casecontrol study from the 6 Canadian provinces, the risk of NHL increased with the number of different pesticides used. 53 ORs increased even further when the analyses were restricted to ''potentially carcinogenic'' pesticides; one pesticide had an OR of 1.30 (95% CI, 0.90-1.88), 2 to 4 pesticides had an OR of 1.54 (95% CI, 1.11-2.12), and more than 4 pesticides had an OR of 1.94 (95% CI, 1.17-3.23). These results are somewhat similar to those reported by De Roos et al, who pooled data from 3 NHL casecontrol studies conducted in the 1980s in 4 American Midwestern states.…”

“…The vast majority of these studies focused on OC insecticides (11 of 15 studies) and used serum, 48,58,131 plasma, 46,[54][55][56]59 or adipose tissue 53,60,126 concentrations of the OC compounds as the estimate of exposure. Of these 11 studies, 7 measured chlordane/heptachlor or their metabolite (eg, oxychlordane, heptachlor epoxide) concentrations.…”

Self-reported Health Effects among Short and Long-term Pesticide Sprayers in Arusha, Northern Tanzania: A cross Sectional Study

“…Modern pesticides are reported to cause acute health effects in respondents exposed to high doses with unspecific symptoms such as headache, dizziness, respiratory problems, nausea, vomiting and eventually death. Furthermore, the data addressing potential adverse effects of long-term exposure to moderate pesticide levels suggest a wide variety of adverse health conditions, including central nervous-, reproductive-and immune system disorders, as well as cancers [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”