Geographic patterns of multiple myeloma: racial and industrial correlates, State of Texas, 1969-71.

Age-adjusted mortality rates for multiple myeloma in Texas State economic area(s) (TSEA) were correlated with selected occupations. After control was made for the percentage of population classified as black, the positive association between the age-adjusted mortality rate from multiple myeloma and percentage of the population in each TSEA employed in beauty shops, carpentry, and agricultural industries was significant (P < 0.05). The findings emphasized the possible importance of race as a confounding variable in ecologic analyses of environmental and industrial exposure associated with mortality due to multiple myeloma. The data supported previous findings by another investigator of a strong association between farming occupations and death from multiple myeloma.