Abstract
Background: The well documented urban/rural difference in lung cancer incidence and the detection of known carcinogens in the atmosphere have produced the hypothesis that long term air pollution may have an effect on lung cancer. The association between incidence of lung cancer and long term air pollution exposure was investigated in a cohort of Oslo men followed from 1972/73 to 1998.
Methods: Data from a follow up study on cardiovascular risk factors among 16 209 40 to 49 year old Oslo men in 1972/73 were linked to data from the Norwegian cancer register, the Norwegian death register, and estimates of average yearly air pollution levels at the participants' home address in 1974 to 1998. Survival analyses, including Cox proportional hazards regression, were used to estimate associations between exposure and the incidence of lung cancer.
Results: During the follow up period, 418 men developed lung cancer. Controlling for age, smoking habits, and length of education, the adjusted risk ratio for developing lung cancer was 1.08 (95% confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.15) for a 10 µg/m3 increase in average home address nitrogen oxide (NOx) exposure between 1974 and 1978. Corresponding figures for a 10 µg/m3 increase in sulphur dioxide (SO2) were 1.01 (0.94 to 1.08).
Conclusions: Urban air pollution may increase the risk of developing lung cancer.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (239.0 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Archer V. E. Air pollution and fatal lung disease in three Utah counties. Arch Environ Health. 1990 Nov-Dec;45(6):325–334. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1990.10118751. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Beeson W. L., Abbey D. E., Knutsen S. F. Long-term concentrations of ambient air pollutants and incident lung cancer in California adults: results from the AHSMOG study.Adventist Health Study on Smog. Environ Health Perspect. 1998 Dec;106(12):813–822. doi: 10.1289/ehp.106-1533247. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bellander T., Berglind N., Gustavsson P., Jonson T., Nyberg F., Pershagen G., Järup L. Using geographic information systems to assess individual historical exposure to air pollution from traffic and house heating in Stockholm. Environ Health Perspect. 2001 Jun;109(6):633–639. doi: 10.1289/ehp.01109633. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Biggeri A., Barbone F., Lagazio C., Bovenzi M., Stanta G. Air pollution and lung cancer in Trieste, Italy: spatial analysis of risk as a function of distance from sources. Environ Health Perspect. 1996 Jul;104(7):750–754. doi: 10.1289/ehp.96104750. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Choi K. S., Inoue S., Shinozaki R. Air pollution, temperature, and regional differences in lung cancer mortality in Japan. Arch Environ Health. 1997 May-Jun;52(3):160–168. doi: 10.1080/00039899709602881. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Cohen A. J. Outdoor air pollution and lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect. 2000 Aug;108 (Suppl 4):743–750. doi: 10.1289/ehp.00108s4743. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Cohen A. J., Pope C. A., 3rd Lung cancer and air pollution. Environ Health Perspect. 1995 Nov;103 (Suppl 8):219–224. doi: 10.1289/ehp.95103s8219. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- DOLL R., HILL A. B. Smoking and carcinoma of the lung; preliminary report. Br Med J. 1950 Sep 30;2(4682):739–748. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.4682.739. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dockery D. W., Pope C. A., 3rd, Xu X., Spengler J. D., Ware J. H., Fay M. E., Ferris B. G., Jr, Speizer F. E. An association between air pollution and mortality in six U.S. cities. N Engl J Med. 1993 Dec 9;329(24):1753–1759. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199312093292401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Doll R. Atmospheric pollution and lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect. 1978 Feb;22:23–31. doi: 10.1289/ehp.782223. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Engeland A., Andersen A., Haldorsen T., Tretli S. Smoking habits and risk of cancers other than lung cancer: 28 years' follow-up of 26,000 Norwegian men and women. Cancer Causes Control. 1996 Sep;7(5):497–506. doi: 10.1007/BF00051881. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gram Frederick, Nafstad Per, Håheim Lise Lund. Estimating residential air pollution exposure among citizens in Oslo 1974-1998 using a geographical information system. J Environ Monit. 2003 Aug;5(4):541–546. doi: 10.1039/b303500j. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hemminki K., Pershagen G. Cancer risk of air pollution: epidemiological evidence. Environ Health Perspect. 1994 Oct;102 (Suppl 4):187–192. doi: 10.1289/ehp.94102s4187. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hoek Gerard, Brunekreef Bert, Goldbohm Sandra, Fischer Paul, van den Brandt Piet A. Association between mortality and indicators of traffic-related air pollution in the Netherlands: a cohort study. Lancet. 2002 Oct 19;360(9341):1203–1209. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11280-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Håheim L. L., Holme I., Hjermann I., Leren P. Smoking habits and risk of fatal stroke: 18 years follow up of the Oslo Study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1996 Dec;50(6):621–624. doi: 10.1136/jech.50.6.621. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Katsouyanni K., Pershagen G. Ambient air pollution exposure and cancer. Cancer Causes Control. 1997 May;8(3):284–291. doi: 10.1023/a:1018492818416. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 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]
- Leren P., Askevold E. M., Foss O. P., Froili A., Grymyr D., Helgeland A., Hjermann I., Holme I., Lund-Larsen P. G., Norum K. R. The Oslo study. Cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and young Oslo men. Acta Med Scand Suppl. 1975;588:1–38. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mills P. K., Abbey D., Beeson W. L., Petersen F. Ambient air pollution and cancer in California Seventh-day Adventists. Arch Environ Health. 1991 Sep-Oct;46(5):271–280. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1991.9934387. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nyberg F., Gustavsson P., Järup L., Bellander T., Berglind N., Jakobsson R., Pershagen G. Urban air pollution and lung cancer in Stockholm. Epidemiology. 2000 Sep;11(5):487–495. doi: 10.1097/00001648-200009000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pope C. A., 3rd, Thun M. J., Namboodiri M. M., Dockery D. W., Evans J. S., Speizer F. E., Heath C. W., Jr Particulate air pollution as a predictor of mortality in a prospective study of U.S. adults. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1995 Mar;151(3 Pt 1):669–674. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/151.3_Pt_1.669. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pope C. Arden, 3rd, Burnett Richard T., Thun Michael J., Calle Eugenia E., Krewski Daniel, Ito Kazuhiko, Thurston George D. Lung cancer, cardiopulmonary mortality, and long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution. JAMA. 2002 Mar 6;287(9):1132–1141. doi: 10.1001/jama.287.9.1132. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 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]
- 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]
- Samet J. M., Eradze G. R. Radon and lung cancer risk: taking stock at the millenium. Environ Health Perspect. 2000 Aug;108 (Suppl 4):635–641. doi: 10.1289/ehp.00108s4635. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tango T. Effect of air pollution on lung cancer: a Poisson regression model based on vital statistics. Environ Health Perspect. 1994 Nov;102 (Suppl 8):41–45. doi: 10.1289/ehp.94102s841. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]