Skip to main content
PMC home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 2003 Apr;111(4):663–668. doi: 10.1289/ehp.5986

Childhood cancer incidence rates and hazardous air pollutants in California: an exploratory analysis.

Peggy Reynolds 1, Julie Von Behren 1, Robert B Gunier 1, Debbie E Goldberg 1, Andrew Hertz 1, Daniel F Smith 1
PMCID: PMC1241461  PMID: 12676632

Abstract

Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are compounds shown to cause cancer or other adverse health effects. We analyzed population-based childhood cancer incidence rates in California (USA) from 1988 to 1994, by HAP exposure scores, for all California census tracts. For each census tract, we calculated exposure scores by combining cancer potency factors with outdoor HAP concentrations modeled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We evaluated the relationship between childhood cancer rates and exposure scores for 25 potentially carcinogenic HAPs emitted from mobile, area, and point sources and from all sources combined. Our study period saw 7,143 newly diagnosed cancer cases in California; of these, 6,989 (97.8%) could be assigned to census tracts and included in our analysis. Using Poisson regression, we estimated rate ratios (RRs) adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, and sex. We found little evidence for elevated cancer RRs for all sites or for gliomas among children living in high-ranking combined-source exposure areas. We found elevated RRs and a significant trend with increasing exposure level for childhood leukemia in tracts ranked highest for exposure to the combined group of 25 HAPs (RR = 1.21; 95% confidence interval, 1.03, 1.42) and in tracts ranked highest for point-source HAP exposure (RR = 1.32; 95% confidence interval, 1.11, 1.57). Our findings suggest an association between increased childhood leukemia rates and high HAP exposure, but studies involving more comprehensive exposure assessment and individual-level exposure data will be important for elucidating this relationship.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (267.1 KB).

Selected References

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

  1. Caldwell J. C., Woodruff T. J., Morello-Frosch R., Axelrad D. A. Application of health information to hazardous air pollutants modeled in EPA's Cumulative Exposure Project. Toxicol Ind Health. 1998 May-Jun;14(3):429–454. doi: 10.1177/074823379801400304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Colt J. S., Blair A. Parental occupational exposures and risk of childhood cancer. Environ Health Perspect. 1998 Jun;106 (Suppl 3):909–925. doi: 10.1289/ehp.98106909. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cowell J. K. The genetics of retinoblastoma. Br J Cancer. 1991 Mar;63(3):333–336. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1991.79. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Feychting M., Svensson D., Ahlbom A. Exposure to motor vehicle exhaust and childhood cancer. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1998 Feb;24(1):8–11. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.272. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Frome E. L., Checkoway H. Epidemiologic programs for computers and calculators. Use of Poisson regression models in estimating incidence rates and ratios. Am J Epidemiol. 1985 Feb;121(2):309–323. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Greenland S. Dose-response and trend analysis in epidemiology: alternatives to categorical analysis. Epidemiology. 1995 Jul;6(4):356–365. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199507000-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Knox E. G., Gilman E. A. Hazard proximities of childhood cancers in Great Britain from 1953-80. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1997 Apr;51(2):151–159. doi: 10.1136/jech.51.2.151. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kyle A. D., Wright C. C., Caldwell J. C., Buffler P. A., Woodruff T. J. Evaluating the health significance of hazardous air pollutants using monitoring data. Public Health Rep. 2001 Jan-Feb;116(1):32–44. doi: 10.1016/S0033-3549(04)50020-1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Langholz Bryan, Ebi Kristie L., Thomas Duncan C., Peters John M., London Stephanie J. Traffic density and the risk of childhood leukemia in a Los Angeles case-control study. Ann Epidemiol. 2002 Oct;12(7):482–487. doi: 10.1016/s1047-2797(01)00317-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Li F. P., Fraumeni J. F., Jr, Mulvihill J. J., Blattner W. A., Dreyfus M. G., Tucker M. A., Miller R. W. A cancer family syndrome in twenty-four kindreds. Cancer Res. 1988 Sep 15;48(18):5358–5362. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Morello-Frosch Rachel, Pastor Manuel, Jr, Porras Carlos, Sadd James. Environmental justice and regional inequality in southern California: implications for future research. Environ Health Perspect. 2002 Apr;110 (Suppl 2):149–154. doi: 10.1289/ehp.02110s2149. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Nordlinder R., Järvholm B. Environmental exposure to gasoline and leukemia in children and young adults--an ecology study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1997;70(1):57–60. doi: 10.1007/s004200050186. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Pearson R. L., Wachtel H., Ebi K. L. Distance-weighted traffic density in proximity to a home is a risk factor for leukemia and other childhood cancers. J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2000 Feb;50(2):175–180. doi: 10.1080/10473289.2000.10463998. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Pratt G. C., Palmer K., Wu C. Y., Oliaei F., Hollerbach C., Fenske M. J. An assessment of air toxics in Minnesota. Environ Health Perspect. 2000 Sep;108(9):815–825. doi: 10.1289/ehp.00108815. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Raaschou-Nielsen O., Hertel O., Thomsen B. L., Olsen J. H. Air pollution from traffic at the residence of children with cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 2001 Mar 1;153(5):433–443. doi: 10.1093/aje/153.5.433. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Reynolds P., Elkin E., Scalf R., Von Behren J., Neutra R. R. A case-control pilot study of traffic exposures and early childhood leukemia using a geographic information system. Bioelectromagnetics. 2001;Suppl 5:S58–S68. doi: 10.1002/1521-186x(2001)22:5+<::aid-bem1024>3.3.co;2-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Reynolds Peggy, Von Behren Julie, Gunier Robert B., Goldberg Debbie E., Hertz Andrew, Smith Daniel. Traffic patterns and childhood cancer incidence rates in California, United States. Cancer Causes Control. 2002 Sep;13(7):665–673. doi: 10.1023/a:1019579430978. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rinsky R. A., Smith A. B., Hornung R., Filloon T. G., Young R. J., Okun A. H., Landrigan P. J. Benzene and leukemia. An epidemiologic risk assessment. N Engl J Med. 1987 Apr 23;316(17):1044–1050. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198704233161702. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Rosenbaum A. S., Axelrad D. A., Woodruff T. J., Wei Y. H., Ligocki M. P., Cohen J. P. National estimates of outdoor air toxics concentrations. J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 1999 Oct;49(10):1138–1152. doi: 10.1080/10473289.1999.10463919. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Ross J. A., Davies S. M., Potter J. D., Robison L. L. Epidemiology of childhood leukemia, with a focus on infants. Epidemiol Rev. 1994;16(2):243–272. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.epirev.a036153. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. STEWART A., WEBB J., HEWITT D. A survey of childhood malignancies. Br Med J. 1958 Jun 28;1(5086):1495–1508. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5086.1495. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Savitz D. A., Chen J. H. Parental occupation and childhood cancer: review of epidemiologic studies. Environ Health Perspect. 1990 Aug;88:325–337. doi: 10.1289/ehp.9088325. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Savitz D. A., Feingold L. Association of childhood cancer with residential traffic density. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1989 Oct;15(5):360–363. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.1848. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Stern A. C. History of air pollution legislation in the United States. J Air Pollut Control Assoc. 1982 Jan;32(1):44–61. doi: 10.1080/00022470.1982.10465369. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Wallace L. A. Comparison of risks from outdoor and indoor exposure to toxic chemicals. Environ Health Perspect. 1991 Nov;95:7–13. doi: 10.1289/ehp.91957. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Wilkinson P., Thakrar B., Walls P., Landon M., Falconer S., Grundy C., Elliott P. Lymphohaematopoietic malignancy around all industrial complexes that include major oil refineries in Great Britain. Occup Environ Med. 1999 Sep;56(9):577–580. doi: 10.1136/oem.56.9.577. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Woodruff T. J., Axelrad D. A., Caldwell J., Morello-Frosch R., Rosenbaum A. Public health implications of 1990 air toxics concentrations across the United States. Environ Health Perspect. 1998 May;106(5):245–251. doi: 10.1289/ehp.98106245. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Woodruff T. J., Caldwell J., Cogliano V. J., Axelrad D. A. Estimating cancer risk from outdoor concentrations of hazardous air pollutants in 1990. Environ Res. 2000 Mar;82(3):194–206. doi: 10.1006/enrs.1999.4021. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES