Occupation and Adult Gliomas

Lifetime job histories from a population-based, case-control study of gliomas diagnosed among adults in the San Francisco Bay area between August 1991 and April 1994 were evaluated to assess occupational risk factors. Occupational data for 476 cases and 462 controls were analyzed, with adjustment for age, gender, education, and race. Imprecise increased risks were observed for physicians and surgeons (odds ratio (OR) = 3.5, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.7, 17.6), artists (OR = 1.9, 95% CI: 0.5, 6.5), foundry and smelter workers (OR = 2.6, 95% CI: 0.5, 13.1), petroleum and gas workers (OR = 4.9, 95% CI: 0.6, 42.2), and painters (OR = 1.6, 95% CI: 0.5, 4.9). Legal and social service workers, shippers, janitors, motor vehicle operators, and aircraft operators had increased odds ratios only with longer duration of employment. Physicians and surgeons, foundry and smelter workers, petroleum and gas workers, and painters showed increased risk for both astrocytic and nonastrocytic tumors. Artists and firemen had increased risk for astrocytic tumors only, while messengers, textile workers, aircraft operators, and vehicle manufacturing workers showed increased risk only for nonastrocytic tumors. Despite study limitations, including small numbers for many of the occupational groups, a high percentage of proxy respondents among cases, and lack of specific exposure information, associations were observed for several occupations previously reported to be at higher risk for brain tumors generally and gliomas specifically.