Childhood leukemia in metropolitan regions in the United States: a possible relation to population density?
Following recent research in Great Britain, the geographic incidence of leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma among White children in three metropolitan regions of the United States (San Francisco-Oakland, CA; Detroit, MI; and Atlanta, GA) during 1978-82 has been analyzed using census tract-specific data. There was no evidence of a general tendency for cases to cluster geographically, in contrast to results from Britain. Further, rates did not vary with median income or education levels for census tracts. However, there was a statistically significant increasing trend in incidence rates with increasing population density: relative risk for highest relative to lowest category = 1.4 (95% percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.1-2.0) for White population density, and 1.4 (CI = 1.0-2.0) for total population density. The interpretation of these findings is unclear and further investigation is required. It is possible that population density is acting as a surrogate for some virus-related factor.
National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton, Didcot, UK.
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Muirhead
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D011156:Population Density; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology