Pesticide use and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoid malignancies in agricultural cohorts from France, Norway and the USA: a pooled analysis from the AGRICOH consortium.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Pesticides are commonly used in agriculture, and previous studies endorsed the need to further investigate the possible association between their use and risk of lymphoid malignancies in agricultural workers.

METHODS:

We investigated the relationship of ever use of 14 selected pesticide chemical groups and 33 individual active chemical ingredients with non-Hodgkin lymphoid malignancies (NHL) overall or major subtypes, in a pooled analysis of three large agricultural worker cohorts. Pesticide use was derived from self-reported history of crops cultivated combined with crop-exposure matrices (France and Norway) or self-reported lifetime use of active ingredients (USA). Cox regression models were used to estimate cohort-specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), which were combined using random effects meta-analysis to calculate meta-HRs.

RESULTS:

During follow-up, 2430 NHL cases were diagnosed in 316 270 farmers accruing 3 574 815 person-years under risk. Most meta-HRs suggested no association. Moderately elevated meta-HRs were seen for: NHL and ever use of terbufos (meta-HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.00-1.39); chronic lymphocytic leukaemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma and deltamethrin (1.48, 1.06-2.07); and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and glyphosate (1.36, 1.00-1.85); as well as inverse associations of NHL with the broader groups of organochlorine insecticides (0.86, 0.74-0.99) and phenoxy herbicides (0.81, 0.67-0.98), but not with active ingredients within these groups, after adjusting for exposure to other pesticides.

CONCLUSIONS:

Associations of pesticides with NHL appear to be subtype- and chemical-specific. Non-differential exposure misclassification was an important limitation, showing the need for refinement of exposure estimates and exposure-response analyses.

• Authors: Maria E Leon, Leah H Schinasi, Pierre Lebailly, Laura E Beane Freeman, Karl-Christian Nordby, Gilles Ferro, Alain Monnereau, Maartje Brouwer, Séverine Tual, Isabelle Baldi, Kristina Kjaerheim, Jonathan N Hofmann, Petter Kristensen, Stella Koutros, Kurt Straif, Hans Kromhout, Joachim Schüz
• Journal: International journal of epidemiology (Int J Epidemiol) Vol. 48 Issue 5 Pg. 1519-1535 (10 01 2019) ISSN: 1464-3685 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 30880337 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © World Health Organization, 2019. All rights reserved. The World Health Organization has granted the Publisher permission for the reproduction of this article.

Chemical References

• Pesticides

Topics

• Age of Onset
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Agriculture
• Case-Control Studies
• Female
• France (epidemiology)
• Humans
• Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin (epidemiology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Norway (epidemiology)
• Occupational Exposure (statistics & numerical data)
• Pesticides
• Regression Analysis
• Risk Factors
• United States (epidemiology)