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A
case-control study of brain gliomas and occupational exposure to
chemical carcinogens: the risk to farmers
Musicco M, Sant M, Molinari S, Filippini G, Gatta G, Berrino
F
Istituto di tecnologie biomediche avanzate, Divisione di
Epidemiologia, Milano, Italy
During 1983 and
1984, 240 newly diagnosed cases of brain glioma and 742 controls (465
non-glioma nervous system tumors and 277 patients with other
neurologic diseases) were recruited and interviewed in the neurologic
and neurosurgical departments of two hospitals in Milan, Italy.
The
occupational histories of cases and controls were compared, and
relative risk estimates, adjusted for sex, age, residence, and
socioeconomic status, were computed using the Mantel-Haenszel method.
A statistically significant risk increase was found for farmers
(relative risk (RR) = 1.6, p = 0.0025).
This risk increase was
attributable to those farmers who reported the use of chemicals
(insecticides or fungicides, herbicides, and fertilizers).
Among the
three groups of investigated agrochemicals, only the use of
insecticides or fungicides was associated with a significant increase
in relative risk (RR = 2.0, p = 0.006).
Many farmers exposed to
fungicides reported the use of commercial compounds of copper sulfate.
Some of these compounds contain methyl urea, which has a specific
carcinogenic effect on the nervous system in animals.
These data
suggest that the occupational exposure of farmers to agrochemicals
might be responsible for the observed excess risk of brain glioma in
farmers.
PMID: 3421243 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3421243&dopt=Abstract
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