title: Community lifestyle characteristics and risk of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children.
abstract: High rates of leukaemia in children and young people have been associated with features of community isolation and population growth. Incidence data collected by two specialist registries were used to compare incidence rates at ward level with relevant ward characteristics derived from routine census and Ordnance Survey data for England and Wales. An excess risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) was found for wards which are farthest from large urban centres. The excess was greatest for wards of higher socioeconomic status and for children aged 1-7 years (the childhood peak), for which a two-fold excess was seen. These findings in general support the hypothesis that childhood leukaemia has an infectious aetiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Ricketts
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: McKinney
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Cartwright
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007953:Leukemia, Radiation-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D011886:Radon / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012042:Registries; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012934:Social Isolation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013029:Space-Time Clustering; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D011886:Radon