Refuelling of vehicles, the use of wood burners and the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in childhood

Abstract

It is plausible that exposure of the parents before birth or of the child to sources of benzene increases the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The aim of this analysis was to investigate whether refuelling a vehicle with petrol before birth or burning wood to heat the home before or after the child's birth increased the risk of childhood ALL. Data from 389 cases and 876 frequency-matched controls were analysed using unconditional logistic regression, adjusting for study matching factors and potential confounders. The odds ratio (OR) for the mother ever refuelling a vehicle with petrol for non-occupational purposes before or during the pregnancy was 0.97 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69, 1.38]. The OR for the father for this exposure in the year before conception was 0.88 [95% CI 0.52, 1.48]. The OR for use of a closed wood burner to heat the home in the year before or during pregnancy was 1.41 [95% CI 1.02, 1.94] and 1.25 [95% CI 0.92, 1.70] after birth. We found no evidence that non-occupational refuelling a vehicle with petrol in the year before or during pregnancy increased the risk of ALL in the offspring. There was weak evidence that burning wood in a closed burner to heat the home increased the risk, but there was no dose-response relationship and chance could explain the finding.

Vehicle refuelling, use of domestic wood heaters and the risk of childhood brain tumours: Results from an Australian case–control study

“…It is plausible, therefore, that wood smoke exposure may act on the germ cell, the fetus in utero, or directly on the child. Despite being unable to identify any previous studies of use of domestic wood heaters and risk of CBT, similar results were seen in our concurrent study of childhood ALL for use of closed wood heaters before the child's birth (OR 1.41, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.94) .…”

Leukemia risk in children exposed to benzene and PM10 from vehicular traffic: a case–control study in an Italian population

“…One such study was an ecologic study in Texas based on census tract-specific benzene estimates [41]; others examined residence near petrol stations and automotive repair garages [42–45] or hazardous waste sites containing benzene [46]. Another study that used frequency of vehicle refueling by parents in the year before or during pregnancy and use of wood burners as indicators of benzene exposure did not find such association [47]. …”

The Childhood Leukemia International Consortium

“…In brief, a decreased risk of childhood B-cell ALL has been associated with surrogate measures of early common infection, such as high levels of social contact in daycare settings [6-9]. Elevated risks of childhood ALL have been reported with high birth weight [10], home use of pesticides [11], tobacco smoking [12,13], diet [14-17], parental occupational chemical exposures such as solvents and hydrocarbons, and some measures of outdoor air pollution [18-23]. Previous studies, mostly limited in scope, have evaluated the role of candidate genes involved in xenobiotic transport and metabolism [24-32], DNA repair [28,33,34], folate metabolic pathways [28,35-38], and immune regulation [28,39-42] including the histocompatibility complex (human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes) [43-45].…”