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055 MORTALITY AND CANCER INCIDENCE AMONG SWEDISH FISHERMEN: AN UPDATE
Objectives:
To assess the cancer incidence and mortality patterns among Swedish fishermen, an occupational group with a high intake of locally caught fish. High dietary intake of fish provides important n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, the fatty fish from the east coast contains high concentrations of persistent organohalogen pollutants, such as PCB and dioxin.
Methods:
Cohorts of 8564 west and 2904 east coast fishermen who had been members of the Swedish Fishermen’s organisation were established. Cause specific incident cancer cases and cause of death were recorded up to 2002 through linkage with the cancer and cause of death registries. Cause-specific expected cancer incidence and mortality 1965–2002 were calculated based on national rates.
Results:
Overall mortality was significantly decreased among the west coast fishermen (SMR 0.87) and close to unity on the east coast. Lower than expected rates was observed for deaths from malignancies, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases for both cohorts, mainly due to low rates for the earlier part of follow-up (1965–1988). The overall cancer incidence was lower than expected (SIR 0.96) on the west coast, with an inconsistent risk pattern over the observation periods, while the risk for the east coast cohort did not differ from that expected. The eastern fishermen showed a decrease in colon cancer mainly based on a lower rate for the first time period. Increased and consistent risks were seen for lip cancer in both cohorts. Squamous cell skin cancers were more frequent than expected for both cohorts during the early follow-up period.
Conclusion:
The simultaneous finding of elevated rates for lip and squamous cell skin cancers, with mainly facial and upper limb location, indicates an occupational hazard from sun exposure for …