Canadian male farm residents, pesticide safety handling practices, exposure to animals and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).
BACKGROUND
A majority of published studies indicate that farmers have an elevated risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) compared to other workers.


METHODS
We evaluated accidental exposure to pesticides, the use of personal protective equipment, and exposure to animals among male farm residents in a Canadian population-based, multi-centre, NHL-control questionnaire study.


RESULTS
In a multivariate model, the following variables had statistically significant adjusted odds ratios (OR) using 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) (a) higher risk: having more than 13 head of swine, raising bison, elk or ostriches, a personal history of cancer, > 4 and < or = 15 years of farm residence and occupational exposure to diesel fuel and exhaust; (b) lower risk: raising cattle and a personal history of measles.


CONCLUSIONS
Future multidisciplinary studies of NHL should include a comprehensive review of exposure to animals in sufficient detail to assess etiological mechanisms to explain the putative associations between exposure to farm animals and NHL.
McDuffie
H H
HH
Centre for Agricultural Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, SK, Canada. mcduffie@sask.usask.ca
Pahwa
P
P
Spinelli
J J
JJ
McLaughlin
J R
JR
Fincham
S
S
Robson
D
D
Dosman
J A
JA
Hu
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010575:Pesticides; D011481:Protective Clothing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D010575:Pesticides