title: Maternal and perinatal risk factors for childhood cancer: record linkage study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate maternal and perinatal risk factors for childhood cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control analysis of linked records from the Aberdeen Maternity and Neonatal Databank with the Scottish Cancer Registry and the General Registry of Births and Deaths in Scotland was carried out.
  
  
  METHODS
  Aberdeen, Scotland.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cases (n=176) comprised children diagnosed with cancer under 15 years or recorded as having died of cancer. Four controls per case were matched by age and gender.
  Maternal age, body mass index, social class, marital status and smoking as well as pre-eclampsia, antepartum haemorrhage and previous miscarriage, gestational age, birth weight and Apgar scores were compared between groups to test for association with cancer. ORs with 95% CIs were calculated using conditional logistic regression in univariable and multivariable models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the maternal characteristics tested, mother's age at delivery (cases mean 28.9 (SD 5.6) years vs controls mean 30.2 (SD 4.6), p=0.002) and smoking status (38.6% smokers among cases, 29.7% among controls, p=0.034) were found to be different between groups. Of the perinatal factors tested, low Apgar score at 5 min (adjusted OR (AOR) 4.59, 95% CI 1.52 to 13.87) and delivery by caesarean section (AOR 1.95, 95% CI 1.30 to 2.92) showed statistically significant associations with childhood cancer in the multivariable model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Younger maternal age, maternal smoking, delivery by caesarean section and low Apgar score at 5 min were independently associated with increased risk of childhood cancer. These general findings should be interpreted with caution as this study did not have the power to detect any association with individual diagnostic categories of childhood cancer.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Group, Division of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: Sohinee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beasley
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Gary J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Macfarlane
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001238:Asphyxia Neonatorum; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D008498:Medical Record Linkage; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D047928:Premature Birth; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: EPIDEMIOLOGY