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Occupational livestock or animal dust exposure and offspring cancer risk in Denmark, 1968–2016

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Abstract

Objective

To examine associations with occupational livestock or other animal dust exposure and offspring cancer risk.

Methods

In this population-based case–control study of Danish children aged < 17 years old, 5078 childhood cancer cases diagnosed 1968–2016 were matched to cancer-free controls by birth year and sex (n = 123,228). Occupational livestock or animal dust exposure was identified using a job-exposure matrix. We employed multivariable conditional logistic regression models to estimate associations with offspring cancer for births 1968–2016 and 1989–2016, with the latter timeframe reflecting a period of presumed higher exposure due to changes in Danish farming practices. Sensitivity analyses considered place of birth (urban areas vs. rural areas and small towns).

Results

For births 1968–2016, paternal exposure from offspring birth to cancer diagnosis was associated with central nervous system tumors (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–1.63) and germ cell tumors (OR = 1.82, 95% CI 1.05–3.27), while maternal pregnancy exposure was associated with astrocytoma (OR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.00–3.57). For births 1989–2016, paternal exposure from offspring birth to cancer diagnosis was negatively associated with acute lymphoid leukemia (OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.33–1.00). For births in rural areas only, maternal exposure from offspring birth to cancer diagnosis was positively associated with acute myeloid leukemia (OR = 2.16, 95% CI 1.09–4.29).

Conclusions

This study suggests that paternal occupational animal exposure is associated with offspring germ cell tumors, and maternal pregnancy exposure with astrocytomas. Our results are mixed with respect to leukemia subtypes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health (R21CA175959, R03ES021643). Dr. Hall was supported by the Collaborative Research Training Program in Occupational Epidemiology of the UCLA Southern California Education and Research Center, Grant Agreement Number T42OH008412 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of CDC or NIOSH. Dr. Heck was supported by a grant from Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (#17-01882).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Clinton Hall, Ondine S. von Ehrenstein, Di He, Jørn Olsen, Beate Ritz & Julia E. Heck

  2. Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Johnni Hansen

  3. Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Ondine S. von Ehrenstein

  4. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

    Jørn Olsen

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  1. Clinton Hall
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Correspondence to Julia E. Heck.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Danish Data Protection Agency and the human subjects’ protection board at the University of California, Los Angeles, and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Hall, C., Hansen, J., von Ehrenstein, O.S. et al. Occupational livestock or animal dust exposure and offspring cancer risk in Denmark, 1968–2016. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 93, 659–668 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-020-01524-7

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