2Ī meta-analysis of 33 studies that evaluated brain cancer and farming found a small but significantly increased risk of brain cancer among farmers. Exposure to ionising radiation has been consistently associated with increased incidence and other suspected risk factors include certain rare genetic disorders, organic solvents, and electromagnetic fields.
Although brain cancer is one of the most lethal cancers, its aetiology is poorly understood. 1 Gliomas represent over 90% of malignant cancers of the brain and central nervous system. The incidence rate of primary brain tumours was 6.4 per 100 000 in the United States in 2000 and has been gradually increasing. These findings warrant further evaluation in prospective cohort studies where issues of recall bias are not a concern. Based on a small number of exposed cases, ORs were significantly increased for the herbicides metribuzin (OR = 3.4, 95% CI 1.2 to 9.7) and paraquat (OR = 11.1, 95% CI 1.2 to 101), and for the insecticides bufencarb (OR = 18.9, 95% CI 1.9 to 187), chlorpyrifos (OR = 22.6, 95% CI 2.7 to 191), and coumaphos (OR = 5.9, 95% CI 1.1 to 32).Ĭonclusion: The authors found significant associations between some specific agricultural pesticide exposures and the risk of glioma among male farmers but not among female farmers in Nebraska however, most of the positive associations were limited to proxy respondents.
For two herbicides and three insecticides, use was positively associated with risk among both self and proxy respondents. Specific pesticide families and individual pesticides were associated with significantly increased risks among male farmers however, most of the positive associations were limited to proxy respondents. Among women, there were no positive associations with farming activities among self or proxy respondents. Results: Among men, ever living or working on a farm and duration of farming were associated with significantly increased risks of glioma (⩾55 years on a farm OR = 3.9, 95% CI 1.8 to 8.6) however, positive findings were limited to proxy respondents. Non-farmers were used as the reference category for all analyses. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for farming and for use of individual and chemical classes of insecticides and herbicides, including pesticides classified as nitrosatable (able to form N-nitroso compounds upon reaction with nitrite). Methods: Telephone interviews were conducted with men and women diagnosed with gliomas (n = 251) between 19 and controls (n = 498) randomly selected from the same geographical area. Background: To evaluate the risk of the adult glioma associated with farming and agricultural pesticide use, the authors conducted a population based case control study in eastern Nebraska.