Occupational Exposure to Pesticides and Risk of Adult Brain Tumors

• Published in: American journal of epidemiology Vol. 167; no. 8; pp. 976 - 985
• Main Authors: Samanic, Claudine M., De Roos, Anneclaire J., Stewart, Patricia A., Rajaraman, Preetha, Waters, Martha A., Inskip, Peter D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cary, NC Oxford University Press 15-04-2008; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Analysis. Health state; Biological and medical sciences; Brain cancer; Brain Neoplasms - chemically induced; Brain Neoplasms - epidemiology; Brain Neoplasms - etiology; Case-Control Studies; central nervous system neoplasms; Epidemiology; Female; General aspects; Glioma - epidemiology; Glioma - etiology; Herbicides; Human exposure; Humans; Incidence; Male; Medical research; Medical sciences; Meningeal Neoplasms - epidemiology; Meningeal Neoplasms - etiology; Meningioma - epidemiology; Meningioma - etiology; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Neurology; Occupational Diseases - epidemiology; Occupational Diseases - etiology; Occupational Exposure - adverse effects; Occupational hazards; Occupational medicine; Pesticides; Pesticides - toxicity; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tumors of the nervous system. Phacomatoses; United States; United States - epidemiology; United States; North America; America; central nervous system neoplasms; pesticides; United States; incidence; Human; Nervous system diseases; Pesticides; Central nervous system; Risk; Occupational exposure; Epidemiology; Intracranial tumor; Cerebral disorder; Incidence; Central nervous system disease; Adult; Occupational medicine
• ISSN: 0002-9262; 1476-6256
• DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwm401

The authors examined incident glioma and meningioma risk associated with occupational exposure to insecticides and herbicides in a hospital-based, case-control study of brain cancer. Cases were 462 glioma and 195 meningioma patients diagnosed between 1994 and 1998 in three US hospitals. Controls were 765 patients admitted to the same hospitals for nonmalignant conditions. Occupational histories were collected during personal interviews. Exposure to pesticides was estimated by use of a questionnaire, combined with pesticide measurement data abstracted from published sources. Using logistic regression models, the authors found no association between insecticide and herbicide exposures and risk for glioma and meningioma. There was no association between glioma and exposure to insecticides or herbicides, in men or women. Women who reported ever using herbicides had a significantly increased risk for meningioma compared with women who never used herbicides (odds ratio = 2.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.4, 4.3), and there were significant trends of increasing risk with increasing years of herbicide exposure (p = 0.01) and increasing cumulative exposure (p = 0.01). There was no association between meningioma and herbicide or insecticide exposure among men. These findings highlight the need to go beyond job title to elucidate potential carcinogenic exposures within different occupations.