Pesticide Product Use and Risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Women

Abstract

A population-based, incidence case–control study was conducted among women in upstate New York to determine whether pesticide exposure is associated with an increase in risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) among women. The study involved 376 cases of NHL identified through the State Cancer Registry and 463 controls selected from the Medicare beneficiary files and state driver’s license records. Information about history of farm work, history of other jobs associated with pesticide exposure, use of common household pesticide products, and potential confounding variables was obtained by telephone interview. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using an unconditional logistic regression model. The risk of NHL was doubled (OR = 2.12; 95% CI, 1.21–3.71) among women who worked for at least 10 years at a farm where pesticides were reportedly used. When both farming and other types of jobs associated with pesticide exposure were combined, there was a progressive increase in risk of NHL with increasing duration of such work (p = 0.005). Overall cumulative frequency of use of household pesticide products was positively associated with risk of NHL (p = 0.004), which was most pronounced when they were applied by subjects themselves. When exposure was analyzed by type of products used, a significant association was observed for mothballs. The associations with both occupational and household pesticides were particularly elevated if exposure started in 1950–1969 and for high-grade NHL. Although the results of this case–control study suggest that exposure to pesticide products may be associated with an increased risk of NHL among women, methodologic limitations related to selection and recall bias suggest caution in inferring causation.

Fetal MouseCyp1b1and Transplacental Carcinogenesis from Maternal Exposure to Dibenzo(a,l)pyrene

“…Leukemias and lymphomas are the most common type of childhood cancer, followed by tumors of the nervous system. The etiology of 80% to 90% of childhood cancers is unknown (1, 21-23), but considerable evidence exists for maternal exposure to environmental chemicals as contributors to development of childhood leukemias and lymphomas (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33). The two environmental in utero exposures that have definitively been linked with increased cancer in children and young adults are diethylstilbestrol and ionizing radiation (1).…”

The non-Hodgkin lymphomas: A review of the epidemiologic literature

“…142 Other case-control studies that evaluated general classes of pesticides have reported odds ratios both above and below 1.0. 29,31,32,53,88,105,114,143 In a German case-control study that evaluated parental pesticide exposure and relative risk of NHL in children positive associations were observed with paternal and maternal exposure, based on small numbers. 144 Evaluating pesticides or categories of pesticides may obscure a chemical-specific association.…”

High prevalence of household pesticides and their unsafe use in rural South India

“…Household pesticide exposure (including prenatal exposure) is related to various adverse health outcomes [1]. In fact, some of the studies from developed countries indicated that exposure to household pesticides could be a risk factor for different types of cancer [5][6][7][8][9]. In these studies, exposures varied from garden or lawn pesticides to naphthalene balls (commonly called moth balls).…”