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Cancer incidence among laboratory workers in biomedical research and routine laboratories in Israel: Part II–nested case‐control study
Author(s) -
Shaham Judith,
Gurvich Rachel,
Kneshet Yael
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.10312
Subject(s) - medicine , nested case control study , cancer , case control study , population , confounding , cohort study , breast cancer , occupational medicine , incidence (geometry) , cohort , epidemiology , gynecology , environmental health , oncology , physics , optics
Background A case‐control study nested within a cohort study of biomedical laboratory workers was conducted to examine whether the excess cancer morbidity that we found can be explained by exposure to a particular group of substances, taking into consideration potential confounders. Methods The study population included 163 cases and two matched control groups: laboratory workers (311) and general population (448) workers. Results Multiple conditional regression analysis showed that working in research laboratories involved an increased risk of cancer generally among women [risk ratio 2.2 (1.2–4.3)], and of breast cancer particularly [risk ratio 2.3 (1.1–4.7). Seventy‐six percent (76%) of breast, 87% of thyroid, 60% of ovary and prostate, 94% of melanoma, and 50% of leukemia cases were ever exposed to at least one known human carcinogen. Conclusion Our results exclude the possibility that the excess cancer morbidity was related to personal risk factors but they may be explained by exposure factors. Am. J. Ind. Med. 44:611–626, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.