Abstract
OBJECTIVE--To examine whether the observed excess of childhood leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the area around the Dounreay nuclear installation is associated with established risk factors, or with factors related to the plant, or with parental occupation in the nuclear industry. DESIGN--Case-control study. SETTING--Caithness local government district. SUBJECTS--14 cases of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma occurring in children aged under 15 years diagnosed in the area between 1970 and 1986 and 55 controls matched for sex, date of birth, and area of residence within Caithness at time of birth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Antenatal abdominal x ray examination; drugs taken and viral infections during pregnancy; father's occupation; father's employment at Dounreay and radiation dose; distance of usual residence from the path of microwave beams, preconceptional exposure to non-ionising radiation in the father; and other lifestyle factors. RESULTS--No raised relative risks were found for prenatal exposure to x rays, social class of parents, employment at Dounreay before conception or diagnosis, father's dose of ionising radiation before conception, or child's residence within 50 m of the path of microwave transmission beams. Results also proved negative for all lifestyle factors except an apparent association with use of beaches within 25 km of Dounreay. However, this result was based on small numbers, arose in the context of multiple hypothesis testing, and is certainly vulnerable to possible systematic bias. CONCLUSION--The raised incidence of childhood leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma around Dounreay cannot be explained by paternal occupation at Dounreay or by paternal exposure to external ionising radiation before conception. The observation of an apparent association between the use of beaches around Dounreay and the development of childhood leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma might be an artefact of multiple testing and influenced by recall bias.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Gardner M. J., Snee M. P., Hall A. J., Powell C. A., Downes S., Terrell J. D. Results of case-control study of leukaemia and lymphoma among young people near Sellafield nuclear plant in West Cumbria. BMJ. 1990 Feb 17;300(6722):423–429. doi: 10.1136/bmj.300.6722.423. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Heasman M. A., Kemp I. W., Urquhart J. D., Black R. Childhood leukaemia in northern Scotland. Lancet. 1986 Feb 1;1(8475):266–266. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(86)90794-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Heasman M. A., Urquhart J. D., Black R. J., Kemp I. W., Glass S., Gray M. Leukaemia in young persons in Scotland: a study of its geographical distribution and relationship to nuclear installations. Health Bull (Edinb) 1987 May;45(3):147–151. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- McWhirter W. R. The relationship of incidence of childhood lymphoblastic leukaemia to social class. Br J Cancer. 1982 Oct;46(4):640–645. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1982.249. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 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]
- Savitz D. A., Wachtel H., Barnes F. A., John E. M., Tvrdik J. G. Case-control study of childhood cancer and exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields. Am J Epidemiol. 1988 Jul;128(1):21–38. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114943. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Severson R. K., Stevens R. G., Kaune W. T., Thomas D. B., Heuser L., Davis S., Sever L. E. Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia and residential exposure to power frequency magnetic fields. Am J Epidemiol. 1988 Jul;128(1):10–20. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114932. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Teepe R. G., Ponec M., Kreis R. W., Hermans R. P. Improved grafting method for treatment of burns with autologous cultured human epithelium. Lancet. 1986 Feb 15;1(8477):385–385. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(86)92349-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]