Objectives To examine mortality patterns and cancer incidence in a pooled cohort of 29 993 US career firefighters employed since 1950 and followed through 2009. Methods Mortality and cancer incidence were evaluated by life table methods with the US population referent. Standardised mortality (SMR) and incidence (SIR) ratios were determined for 92 causes of death and 41 cancer incidence groupings. Analyses focused on 15 outcomes of a priori interest. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to examine the potential for significant bias. Results Person-years at risk totalled 858 938 and 403 152 for mortality and incidence analyses, respectively. All-cause mortality was at expectation (SMR=0.99, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.01, n=12 028). There was excess cancer mortality (SMR=1.14, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.18, n=3285) and incidence (SIR=1.09, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.12, n=4461) comprised mainly of digestive (SMR=1.26, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.34, n=928; SIR=1.17, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.25, n=930) and respiratory (SMR=1.10, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.17, n=1096; SIR=1.16, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.24, n=813) cancers. Consistent with previous reports, modest elevations were observed in several solid cancers; however, evidence of excess lymphatic or haematopoietic cancers was lacking. This study is the first to report excess malignant mesothelioma (SMR=2.00, 95% CI 1.03 to 3.49, n=12; SIR=2.29, 95% CI 1.60 to 3.19, n=35) among US firefighters. Results appeared robust under differing assumptions and analytic techniques. Conclusions Our results provide evidence of a relation between firefighting and cancer. The new finding of excess malignant mesothelioma is noteworthy, given that asbestos exposure is a known hazard of firefighting.

The Agricultural Health Study, a large prospective cohort study has been initiated in North Carolina and Iowa. The objectives of this study are to: 1) identify and quantify cancer risks among men, women, whites, and minorities associated with direct exposure to pesticides and other agricultural agents; 2) evaluate noncancer health risks including neurotoxicity reproductive effects, immunologic effects, nonmalignant respiratory disease, kidney disease, and growth and development among children; 3) evaluate disease risks among spouses and children of farmers that may arise from direct contact with pesticides and agricultural chemicals used in the home lawns and gardens, and from indirect contact, such as spray drift, laundering work clothes, or contaminated food or water; 4) assess current and past occupational and nonoccupational agricultural exposures using periodic interviews and environmental and biologic monitoring; 5) study the relationship between agricultural exposures, biomarkers of exposure, biologic effect, and genetic susceptibility factors relevant to carcinogenesis; and 6) identify and quantify cancer and other disease risks associated with lifestyle factors such as diet, cooking practices, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption, and hair dye use. In the first year of a 3-year enrollment period, 26,235 people have been enrolled in the study, including 19,776 registered pesticide applicators and 6,459 spouses of registered farmer applicators. It is estimated that when the total cohort is assembled in 1997 it will include approximately 75,000 adult study subjects. Farmers, the largest group of registered pesticide applicators comprise 77% of the target population enrolled in the study. This experience compares favorably with enrollment rates of previous prospective studies. Images Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Figure 4.

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Background Both women's and men's occupational health problems merit scientific attention. Researchers need to consider the effect of gender on how occupational health issues are experienced, expressed, defined, and addressed. More serious consideration of gender-related factors will help identify risk factors for both women and men. Methods The authors, who come from a number of disciplines (ergonomics, epidemiology, public health, social medicine, community psychology, economics, sociology) pooled their critiques in order to arrive at the most common and significant problems faced by occupational health researchers who wish to consider gender appropriately. Results This paper describes some ways that gender can be and has been handled in studies of occupational health, as well as some of the consequences. The paper also suggests specific research practices that avoid errors. Obstacles to gender-sensitive practices are considered. Conclusions Although gender-sensitive practices may be difficult to operationalize in some cases, they enrich the scientific quality of research and should lead to better data and ultimately to well-targeted prevention programs. Am. J. Ind. Med. 43:618-629, 2003. KEY WORDS: gender; sex; women; men; research methodology; epidemiology; ergonomics; confounding; effect modification; gender-based analysis INTRODUCTIONBoth women's and men's occupational health merit scientific attention. In the United States, women constitute 46% of the paid workforce [United States Department of Labor, 2002], and have one third of compensated occupational health and safety problems, resulting in 81% of claims on a per hour basis [McDiarmid and Gucer, 2001]. These injuries entail direct and indirect costs to workers and employers, as well as human suffering [deCarteret, 1994]. Therefore, appropriately including sex and gender is increasingly relevant for occupational health research. Although researchers are interested in developing studies involving these variables, they may not know exactly how to do this. This article supplies some suggestions. Many of the arguments presented here will apply to other sources of socially defined diversity such as age, race/ ethnicity, and social class [Krieger et al., 1993;Kilbom et al., 1997;Wegman, 1999; Chaturvedi, 2001]. Each of these factors has its own interactions with the work environment and health effects, but their discussion is beyond the scope of this paper.We have identified three types of problems in the way occupational health research has dealt with sex and gender. First, hazards in women's work have been underestimated [Rosenstock and Lee, 2000;Bäckman and Edling, 2001;London et al., 2002;McDiarmid and Gucer, 2001]. Women have been less often studied by occupational health scientists [Zahm et al., 1994;Messing, 1998a;Niedhammer et al., 2000]. Under-reporting and under-compensation, recognized problems in occupational health [Biddle et al., 1998;Davis et al., 2001;Harber et al., 2001], may be more of a problem for women [Lippel and Demers, 1996;Gluck and O...

Background: An increased rate of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has been repeatedly observed among farmers, but identification of specific exposures that explain this observation has proven difficult. Methods: During the 1980s, the National Cancer Institute conducted three case-control studies of NHL in the midwestern United States. These pooled data were used to examine pesticide exposures in farming as risk factors for NHL in men. The large sample size (n = 3417) allowed analysis of 47 pesticides simultaneously, controlling for potential confounding by other pesticides in the model, and adjusting the estimates based on a prespecified variance to make them more stable. Results: Reported use of several individual pesticides was associated with increased NHL incidence, including organophosphate insecticides coumaphos, diazinon, and fonofos, insecticides chlordane, dieldrin, and copper acetoarsenite, and herbicides atrazine, glyphosate, and sodium chlorate. A subanalysis of these "potentially carcinogenic" pesticides suggested a positive trend of risk with exposure to increasing numbers. Conclusion: Consideration of multiple exposures is important in accurately estimating specific effects and in evaluating realistic exposure scenarios.