Risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia following parental occupational exposure to pesticides

Deborah C Glass; Alison Reid; Helen D Bailey; Elizabeth Milne; Lin Fritschi

doi:10.1136/oemed-2011-100250

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Occup Environ Med

doi:10.1136/oemed-2011-100250

Short report

Risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia following parental occupational exposure to pesticides

¹Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
²Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
³Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Correspondence to Dr Deborah C Glass, Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology, Monash University, The Alfred Centre, Commercial Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia; deborah.glass{at}monash.edu

Contributors DCG carried out the occupational exposure assessments. AR carried out the statistical analyses. EM and LF were chief investigators and HDB was the project officer on the grant that identified the cases and controls and gathered the demographic data, LF organised the occupational exposure assessment data collection. All authors have read and contributed to the paper.

Accepted 28 September 2011
Published Online First 19 June 2012

Abstract

Objective To ascertain whether there was an association between parental occupational exposure to pesticides and increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in the offspring.

Method A population-based case–control study of childhood ALL was conducted in Australia. Information about the occupational pesticide exposure of mothers and fathers was collected using job-specific modules. Information on the types and extent of pesticide exposure was collected for mothers and fathers before and around the time of conception, and also for mothers during pregnancy for the index case or control and for 1 year after birth.

Results Paternal occupational exposure to pesticides before or around conception was not related to increased risk of childhood ALL. There was a low prevalence of occupational exposure to pesticides among women that reduced after birth.

Conclusions Paternal occupational exposure to pesticides was not found to be associated with an increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the offspring. The study was underpowered with respect to maternal exposure to pesticides.

Footnotes

Funding The Aus-ALL study was funded by NHMRC. LF and EM were supported by NHMRC fellowships, HDB was supported by an NHMRC Post Graduate Scholarship.
Competing interests None.
Patient consent Obtained.
Ethics approval Human research ethics committee approval was obtained from all participating hospitals.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.