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Occupation and Breast Cancer
Author(s) -
BROPHY JAMES T.,
KEITH MARGARET M.,
GOREY KEVIN M.,
LUGINAAH ISAAC,
LAUKKANEN ETHAN,
HELLYER DEBORAH,
REINHARTZ ABRAHAM,
WATTERSON ANDREW,
ABUZAHRA HAKAM,
MATICKATYNDALE ELEANOR,
SCHNEIDER KENNETH,
BECK MATTHIAS,
GILBERTSON MICHAEL
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1371.019
Subject(s) - breast cancer , agriculture , medicine , cancer , environmental health , demography , risk factor , gerontology , geography , archaeology , sociology
A local collaborative process was launched in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to explore the role of occupation as a risk factor for cancer. An initial hypothesis‐generating study found an increased risk for breast cancer among women aged 55 years or younger who had ever worked in farming. On the basis of this result, a 2‐year case–control study was undertaken to evaluate the lifetime occupational histories of women with breast cancer. The results indicate that women with breast cancer were nearly three times more likely to have worked in agriculture when compared to the controls (OR = 2.80 [95% CI, 1.6–4.8]). The risk for those who worked in agriculture and subsequently worked in automotive‐related manufacturing was further elevated (OR = 4.0 [95% CI, 1.7–9.9]). The risk for those employed in agriculture and subsequently employed in health care was also elevated (OR = 2.3 [95% CI, 1.1–4.6]). Farming tended to be among the earlier jobs worked, often during adolescence. While this article has limitations including the small sample size and the lack of information regarding specific exposures, it does provide evidence of a possible association between farming and breast cancer. The findings indicate the need for further study to determine which aspects of farming may be of biological importance and to better understand the significance of timing of exposure in terms of cancer risk.