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Epidemiology and Risk Factors
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International
Journal of Cancer, Volume 119, Issue 5, 1 September 2006, Pages 1136-1144;
Published Online: 28 Mar 2006
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Abstract |
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Brain
cancer mortality and potential occupational exposure to lead: Findings
from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study, 1979-1989
Edwin
van Wijngaarden
1,*, Mustafa Dosemeci
1Division
of Epidemiology, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine,
University of Rochester School of Medicineand Dentistry, Rochester, NY.
2Occupational
Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics,
National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD -- *Correspondence
to Edwin van Wijngaarden, Department of Community and Preventive
Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry,
601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 644, Rochester, NY 14642, USA; Fax:
585-461-4532; Email:
Edwin van Wijngaarden (edwin_van_wijngaarden@urmc.rochester.edu).
-- Received: 11 November 2005; Accepted: 27 January 2006.
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We evaluated the association between
potential occupational lead exposure and the risk of brain cancer
mortality in the National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS), which
is a prospective census-based cohort study of mortality among the
noninstitutionalized United States population (1979-1989).
The present study was limited to individuals for whom occupation and
industry were available (n = 317,968).
Estimates of probability and intensity of lead exposure were assigned
using a job-exposure matrix (JEM).
Risk estimates for the impact of lead on brain cancer mortality were
computed using standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and proportional
hazards and Poisson regression techniques, adjusting for the effects
of age, gender and several other covariates.
Brain cancer mortality rates were greater among individuals in jobs
potentially involving lead exposure as compared to those unexposed
(age- and gender-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 1.5; 95% confidence
interval (CI) = 0.9-2.3) with indications of an exposure-response
trend (probability: low HR = 0.7 (95% CI = 0.2-2.2), medium HR = 1.4
(95% CI = 0.8-2.5), high HR = 2.2 (95% CI = 1.2-4.0); intensity: low
HR = 1.2 (95% CI = 0.7-2.1), medium/high HR = 1.9 (95% CI =
1.0-3.4)).
Brain cancer risk was greatest among individuals with the highest
levels of probability and intensity (HR = 2.3; 95% CI =
1.3-4.2).
These findings provide further support for an association between
occupational lead exposure and brain cancer mortality, but need to be
interpreted cautiously due to the consideration of brain cancer as one
disease entity and the absence of biological measures of lead exposure
Keywords: lead;
occupation; brain neoplasms; cohort studies
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© 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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