Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Industrial Medicine logoLink to British Journal of Industrial Medicine
. 1989 Nov;46(11):809–814. doi: 10.1136/oem.46.11.809

Risk of cancer in pesticide applicators in Swedish agriculture.

K Wiklund 1, J Dich 1, L E Holm 1, G Eklund 1
PMCID: PMC1009873  PMID: 2590647

Abstract

The risk of cancer was analysed in a cohort of 20,245 licensed pesticide applicators in agriculture who had licences issued between 1965 and 1976. Most were men (99%) and about 50% had been born in 1935 or later. The cohort was followed up in the Swedish Cancer Register from date of licence until death or 31 December 1982. The mean follow up time was 12.2 years. Average time since first exposure was longer, however, since one fifth of the cohort was exposed in the 1950s. A total of 558 malignant tumours was found compared with 649.8 expected, which resulted in a statistically significantly decreased standardised incidence ratio (SIR) of 0.86 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.79-0.93). Significantly decreased risks of cancer were also found for liver (SIR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.18-0.93), pancreas (SIR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.26-0.87), lung (SIR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.35-0.68), and kidney (SIR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.32-0.84). No statistically significantly increased risks or any time trends were observed. SIR for testicular cancer was increased (SIR = 1.55, 95% CI: 0.92-2.45) and increased with period since licence. Eighteen cases with testicular cancer were found. For those born in 1935 or later a non-significant increased overall risk of cancer was observed (SIR = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.82-1.37). Comparisons were made with agricultural workers in general since pesticide applicators are mainly farmers that use or have used pesticides to a greater extent. Higher risks for pesticide applicators were found for testicular cancer, tumours of the nervous system and endocrine glands, and Hodgkin's disease.

Full text

PDF
809

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barthel E. Erhöhte Mortalität an Osophaguskrebs, Magenkrebs und Hautmelanom bei Pestizid exponierten Schädlingsbekämpfern in der DDR. Arch Geschwulstforsch. 1985;55(6):481–488. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barthel E. Krebsrisiko bei Pestizid-Exponierten in der Landwirtschaft. Arch Geschwulstforsch. 1981;51(7):579–585. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Blair A., Grauman D. J., Lubin J. H., Fraumeni J. F., Jr Lung cancer and other causes of death among licensed pesticide applicators. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1983 Jul;71(1):31–37. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Blair A., Malker H., Cantor K. P., Burmeister L., Wiklund K. Cancer among farmers. A review. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1985 Dec;11(6):397–407. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.2208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Checkoway H., DiFerdinando G., Hulka B. S., Mickey D. D. Medical, life-style, and occupational risk factors for prostate cancer. Prostate. 1987;10(1):79–88. doi: 10.1002/pros.2990100111. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Eriksson M., Hardell L., Berg N. O., Möller T., Axelson O. Soft-tissue sarcomas and exposure to chemical substances: a case-referent study. Br J Ind Med. 1981 Feb;38(1):27–33. doi: 10.1136/oem.38.1.27. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hardell L., Eriksson M., Lenner P., Lundgren E. Malignant lymphoma and exposure to chemicals, especially organic solvents, chlorophenols and phenoxy acids: a case-control study. Br J Cancer. 1981 Feb;43(2):169–176. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1981.25. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Howe G. R., Lindsay J. P. A follow-up study of a ten-percent sample of the Canadian labor force. I. Cancer mortality in males, 1965-73. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1983 Jan;70(1):37–44. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Keller A. Z. Cellular types, survival, race, nativity, occupations, habits and associated diseases in the pathogenesis of lip cancers. Am J Epidemiol. 1970 May;91(5):486–499. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a121159. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lindqvist C. Risk factors in lip cancer: a questionnaire survey. Am J Epidemiol. 1979 May;109(5):521–530. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112710. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Magnus K. Incidence of malignant melanoma of the skin in the five Nordic countries: significance of solar radiation. Int J Cancer. 1977 Oct 15;20(4):477–485. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910200402. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Maibach H. I., Feldman R. J., Milby T. H., Serat W. F. Regional variation in percutaneous penetration in man. Pesticides. Arch Environ Health. 1971 Sep;23(3):208–211. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1971.10665987. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Saftlas A. F., Blair A., Cantor K. P., Hanrahan L., Anderson H. A. Cancer and other causes of death among Wisconsin farmers. Am J Ind Med. 1987;11(2):119–129. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700110202. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sharp D. S., Eskenazi B., Harrison R., Callas P., Smith A. H. Delayed health hazards of pesticide exposure. Annu Rev Public Health. 1986;7:441–471. doi: 10.1146/annurev.pu.07.050186.002301. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Steineck G., Wiklund K. Multiple myeloma in Swedish agricultural workers. Int J Epidemiol. 1986 Sep;15(3):321–325. doi: 10.1093/ije/15.3.321. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Sterling T. D., Arundel A. V. Health effects of phenoxy herbicides. A review. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1986 Jun;12(3):161–173. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.2160. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Wang H. H., MacMahon B. Mortality of pesticide applicators. J Occup Med. 1979 Nov;21(11):741–744. doi: 10.1097/00043764-197911000-00007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Wiklund K., Dich J., Holm L. E., Eklund G. Risk of tumors of the nervous system among mercury and other seed disinfectant applicators in Swedish agriculture. Acta Oncol. 1988;27(6B):865–865. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Wiklund K., Dich J., Holm L. E. Risk of malignant lymphoma in Swedish pesticide appliers. Br J Cancer. 1987 Oct;56(4):505–508. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1987.234. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Wiklund K., Dich J., Holm L. E. Soft tissue sarcoma risk in Swedish licensed pesticide applicators. J Occup Med. 1988 Oct;30(10):801–804. doi: 10.1097/00043764-198810000-00010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Wiklund K., Dich J., Holm L. E. Testicular cancer among agricultural workers and licensed pesticide applicators in Sweden. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1986 Dec;12(6):630–631. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.2091. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wiklund K., Holm L. E. Trends in cancer risks among Swedish agricultural workers. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1986 Sep;77(3):657–664. doi: 10.1093/jnci/77.3.657. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Woods J. S., Polissar L., Severson R. K., Heuser L. S., Kulander B. G. Soft tissue sarcoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in relation to phenoxyherbicide and chlorinated phenol exposure in western Washington. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1987 May;78(5):899–910. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Industrial Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES