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Cancer and other causes of death among U.S. veterinarians, 1966–1977
Author(s) -
Blair Aaron,
Hayes Howard M.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.2910250203
Subject(s) - medicine , cancer , lung cancer , disease , population , socioeconomic status , cause of death , leukemia , environmental health , gerontology , demography , sociology
Causes of death among 1,551 white male veterinarians identified from obituary listings in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association were compared to an expected distribution based on the general US population. The proportion of deaths was significantly high for particular neoplasms, especially leukemia and Hodgkin's disease, and cancers of the brain and skin. Although socioeconomic and methodologic factors may be involved, the excesses were primarily among veterinarians in clinical practice, raising the possibility that specific occupational exposures may be carcinogenic. Mortality was also relatively high for motor vehicle accidents, suicides and asthma, but low for lung cancer and other diseases of the respiratory system.