title: Allergic diseases and risk of hematopoietic malignancies in a cohort of postmenopausal women: a report from the Iowa Women's Health Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Allergic diseases signify immune dysregulation attributable to underlying genetics and environmental exposures. Associations between various allergies and hematopoietic cancers have been observed, albeit inconsistently; however, few prospective studies have examined the risk, and even fewer among older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined risk of incident hematopoietic cancers in those reporting allergic diseases in a population-based cohort of 22,601 older women (Iowa Women's Health Study). Self-reported allergic status, including asthma, hay fever, eczema, and/or other allergies, was determined via questionnaire in 1997 (mean age, 72 years; range, 63-81 years). Incident cancers were ascertained by linkage with the Iowa Cancer Registry from 1997 to 2011. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to estimate multivariate-adjusted HR and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for myeloid (N = 177) and lymphoid (N = 437) malignancies, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Allergic diseases were not associated with risk of myeloid (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.72-1.37) or lymphoid (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.81-1.22) malignancies overall, or for most allergic and malignant subtypes examined. Self-reported asthma was positively associated with development of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS; HR, 2.00; 95% CI, 0.93-4.32). In addition, there was a 30% to 40% decrease in risk of both lymphoid and myeloid cancers in those reporting rural residences but no association in those reporting urban residences; the interaction between residence and allergy was statistically significant for lymphoid malignancies (Pinteraction = 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that asthma may contribute to the pathogenesis of MDS, a finding consistent with the chronic antigen stimulation hypothesis. Susceptibility differences by location of residence are concordant with the hygiene hypothesis and merit additional exploration.
authors: Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. linabery@umn.edu.
authors: Amy M
authors: AM
authors: Linabery
authors: Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
authors: Anna E
authors: AE
authors: Prizment
authors: Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
authors: Kristin E
authors: KE
authors: Anderson
authors: Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors: James R
authors: JR
authors: Cerhan
authors: Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
authors: Jenny N
authors: JN
authors: Poynter
authors: Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
authors: Julie A
authors: JA
authors: Ross
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D007484:Iowa / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D016387:Women's Health