B G Armstrong1, G Gibbs. 1. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, London WC1E 7HT, UK. ben.armstrong@lshtm.ac.uk
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the exposure-response function associating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure and lung cancer, with consideration of smoking. METHODS: Mortality, occupational exposure and smoking histories were ascertained for a cohort of 16,431 persons (15,703 men and 728 women) who had worked in one of four aluminium smelters in Quebec from 1950 to 1999. A variety of exposure-response functions were fitted to the cohort data using generalised relative risk models. RESULTS: In 677 lung cancer cases there was a clear trend of increasing risk with increasing cumulative exposure to PAH measured as benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). A linear model predicted a relative risk of 1.35 (95% CI 1.22 to 1.51) at 100 microg/m(-3) BaP years, but there was a significant departure from linearity in the direction of decreasing slope with increasing exposures. Among the models tried, the best fitting were a two-knot cubic spline and a power curve (RR = (1+bx)(p)), the latter predicting a relative risk of 2.68 at 100 microg/m(-3) BaP years. Additive models and multiplicative models for combining risks from occupational PAH and smoking fitted almost equally well, with a slight advantage to the additive. CONCLUSION: Despite the large cohort with long follow-up, the shape of the exposure-response function and the mode of combination of risks due to occupational PAH and smoking remains uncertain. If a linear exposure-response function is assumed, the estimated slope is broadly in line with the estimate from a previous follow-up of the same cohort, and somewhat higher than the average found in a recent meta-analysis of lung cancer studies.
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the exposure-response function associating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure and lung cancer, with consideration of smoking. METHODS: Mortality, occupational exposure and smoking histories were ascertained for a cohort of 16,431 persons (15,703 men and 728 women) who had worked in one of four aluminium smelters in Quebec from 1950 to 1999. A variety of exposure-response functions were fitted to the cohort data using generalised relative risk models. RESULTS: In 677 lung cancer cases there was a clear trend of increasing risk with increasing cumulative exposure to PAH measured as benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). A linear model predicted a relative risk of 1.35 (95% CI 1.22 to 1.51) at 100 microg/m(-3) BaP years, but there was a significant departure from linearity in the direction of decreasing slope with increasing exposures. Among the models tried, the best fitting were a two-knot cubic spline and a power curve (RR = (1+bx)(p)), the latter predicting a relative risk of 2.68 at 100 microg/m(-3) BaP years. Additive models and multiplicative models for combining risks from occupational PAH and smoking fitted almost equally well, with a slight advantage to the additive. CONCLUSION: Despite the large cohort with long follow-up, the shape of the exposure-response function and the mode of combination of risks due to occupational PAH and smoking remains uncertain. If a linear exposure-response function is assumed, the estimated slope is broadly in line with the estimate from a previous follow-up of the same cohort, and somewhat higher than the average found in a recent meta-analysis of lung cancer studies.
Authors: Elizabeth M Noth; Christine Dixon-Ernst; Sa Liu; Linda Cantley; Baylah Tessier-Sherman; Ellen A Eisen; Mark R Cullen; S Katharine Hammond Journal: J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol Date: 2013-09-11 Impact factor: 5.563
Authors: P Wild; M Gonzalez; E Bourgkard; N Courouble; C Clément-Duchêne; Y Martinet; J Févotte; C Paris Journal: Br J Cancer Date: 2012-03-27 Impact factor: 7.640
Authors: George S Downward; Wei Hu; Nat Rothman; Boris Reiss; Guoping Wu; Fusheng Wei; Robert S Chapman; Lutzen Portengen; Lan Qing; Roel Vermeulen Journal: Environ Sci Technol Date: 2014-11-21 Impact factor: 9.028