Childhood cancer and residential exposure to highways: a nationwide cohort study.

Spycher, Ben D; Feller, Martin; Röösli, Martin; Ammann, Roland; Diezi, Manuel; Egger, Matthias; Kuehni, Claudia E (2015). Childhood cancer and residential exposure to highways: a nationwide cohort study. European journal of epidemiology, 30(12), pp. 1263-1275. Springer 10.1007/s10654-015-0091-9

[img]
Preview
Text
Spycher EurJEpidemiol 2015.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (2MB) | Preview
[img]
Preview
Text
Spycher EurJEpidemiol 2015_supplmat.pdf - Supplemental Material
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (492kB) | Preview
[img]
Preview
Text
Spycher EurJEpidemiol 2015_manuscript.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (521kB) | Preview

Children living near highways are exposed to higher concentrations of traffic-related carcinogenic pollutants. Several studies reported an increased risk of childhood cancer associated with traffic exposure, but the published evidence is inconclusive. We investigated whether cancer risk is associated with proximity of residence to highways in a nation-wide cohort study including all children aged <16 years from Swiss national censuses in 1990 and 2000. Cancer incidence was investigated in time to event analyses (1990-2008) using Cox proportional hazards models and incidence density analyses (1985-2008) using Poisson regression. Adjustments were made for socio-economic factors, ionising background radiation and electromagnetic fields. In time to event analysis based on 532 cases the adjusted hazard ratio for leukaemia comparing children living <100 m from a highway with unexposed children (≥500 m) was 1.43 (95 % CI 0.79, 2.61). Results were similar in incidence density analysis including 1367 leukaemia cases (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.57; 95 % CI 1.09, 2.25). Associations were similar for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (IRR 1.64; 95 % CI 1.10, 2.43) and stronger for leukaemia in children aged <5 years (IRR 1.92; 95 % CI 1.22, 3.04). Little evidence of association was found for other tumours. Our study suggests that young children living close to highways are at increased risk of developing leukaemia.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Pre-clinic Human Medicine > Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM)
04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Gynaecology, Paediatrics and Endocrinology (DFKE) > Clinic of Paediatric Medicine
04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of General Internal Medicine (DAIM) > Clinic of General Internal Medicine

UniBE Contributor:

Spycher, Ben, Feller, Martin, Ammann, Roland, Egger, Matthias, Kühni, Claudia

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health
300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 360 Social problems & social services

ISSN:

0393-2990

Publisher:

Springer

Language:

English

Submitter:

Anette van Dorland

Date Deposited:

03 Nov 2015 15:56

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:50

Publisher DOI:

10.1007/s10654-015-0091-9

PubMed ID:

26520639

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Air pollution, Leukaemia, Lymphoma, Traffic exhaust, Tumours of the central nervous system, Vehicle emissions

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.72858

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/72858

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback