Childhood leukemia and road traffic: A population‐based case‐control study

Abstract

To assess the effect of road traffic exhaust on the risk of childhood leukemia, we carried out a population-based casecontrol study in the Province of Varese, northern Italy, covered by a population-based cancer registry. All 120 incident cases from 1978 -97 were included in the study. Four controls per case, matched by age and gender, were sampled from population files. As index of exposure to traffic exhaust we estimated the annual mean concentration of benzene outside the home using a Gaussian diffusion model. This model uses traffic density (vehicles/day) on nearby main roads, distance between roads and residence, and information on vehicle emissions and weather conditions to estimate benzene concentration. Compared to children whose homes was not exposed to road traffic emissions (<0.1 g/m 3 of benzene as estimated by the model), the risk of childhood leukemia was significantly higher (relative risk [RR] ‫؍‬ 3.91; 95% confidence interval [CI] ‫؍‬ 1.36 -11.27) for heavily exposed children (over 10 g/m 3 estimated annual average). For the intermediate exposure group (0.1-10 g/m 3 ) the relative risk was 1.51 (95% CI ‫؍‬ 0.91-2.51). These data, considered with other available evidence, suggest that motor traffic emissions can be involved in the etiology of childhood leukemia.

Childhood cancer and residential exposure to highways: a nationwide cohort study

“…Our study in the context of previous studies 12 Our results are consistent with the findings of some but not all previous studies of childhood cancer and residence in the proximity to highly trafficked roads [9,[24][25][26][27][28]. The largest of these studies, based on over 700 cases of ALL, found a doubling of the risk among children living within 500 m of high-speed highways and main roads compared to unexposed children [9].…”

Estimating Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: A Comparison of Survey, Biological Monitoring, and Geographic Information System–Based Methods

“…There has been growing interest in evaluating exposure to vehicle exhaust for epidemiologic studies of lung cancer (1,2), childhood cancer (3)(4)(5)(6), breast cancer (7), asthma (8)(9)(10), respiratory symptoms (11), all cause mortality (12), and birth outcomes (13)(14)(15)(16). These studies often rely on exposure estimates derived from surveys or a geographic information system (GIS).…”

The role of residence near hazardous waste sites containing benzene in the development of hematologic cancers in upstate New York

“…One ecologic study in Sweden found a significant relationship between car density and childhood leukemia [25]. A population based case control study in northern Italy similarly found a significant relationship between traffic density (vehicles/ day) and childhood leukemia [34]. However, another study that looked at a population from a previous case control study in Los Angeles was not able to find any association between traffic density and childhood leukemia [35].…”

“…NHL is also more common in Caucasians than in African-Americans and more common in males than in females [4]. Based on epidemiologic findings, Hodgkin's Disease (HD) can be divided into three different diseases: childhood (0-14), young adult (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34) and older adult (> 55) HD [6]. A relationship between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and the risk of HD has been established, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown.…”