Pesticide use related to cancer incidence as studied in a rural district of Hungary.

General mortality analysis showed an increasing tendency of circulatory diseases in two villages examined. Respiratory diseases and suicide were more frequent in the village with greater pesticide use (village I). The relative risk (RR) of gastric cancer for men is significantly higher in village I (high rate of pesticide use) than in the county as a whole (RR, 1.65; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.96-2.83) and also in relation to the national data (RR, 3.20; 95% CI, 1.91-5.36). Since the nitrate concentration in the drinking water, the drug consumption, smoking and eating habits are similar in the two villages, and since alcohol consumption is higher in village II (moderate rate of pesticide use), it seems that nitrosable pesticides may play a role in the etiology of stomach cancer. This is supported by the fact that a higher number of gastric cancer cases was found where larger quantities of nitrosable pesticides had been used.