Open AccessCancer risk in a cohort of licensed pesticide users.
Author(s) -
Giovanni Corrao,
Mariella Calleri,
Flavia Carle,
Rienna Russo,
S Bosia,
Pavilio Piccioni
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of work, environment and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.621
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1795-990X
pISSN - 0355-3140
DOI - 10.5271/sjweh.1861
Subject(s) - incidence (geometry) , medicine , cancer , environmental health , cohort , pesticide , cancer incidence , demography , biology , ecology , physics , sociology , optics
First admissions to the hospital among 25,945 men living in southern Piedmont and holding a license authorizing them to use pesticides were analyzed in a study of the cancer risk related to exposure to pesticides. Standardized incidence ratios significantly higher than one were encountered for malignant skin cancers and lymphomas. The risk of lymphoma was particularly high in predominantly arable areas. The standardized incidence ratios for tumors of the nervous system and hematopoietic tissue showed an interesting age-related pattern and a higher risk in areas primarily devoted to forest tree plantation, but did not reach significance. Certain hypotheses are advanced to explain these findings.