Cancer and noncancer risk to women in agriculture and pest control: the Agricultural Health Study.

The Agricultural Health Study is a collaborative effort involving the National Cancer Institute, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. A goal of this investigation is to establish a large cohort of men and women that can be followed prospectively for 10 years or more to evaluate the role of agricultural exposures in the development of cancer, neurologic disease, reproductive difficulties, childhood developmental problems, and other chronic diseases. The study also will provide an opportunity to assess the role that diet, cooking methods, and other lifestyle factors have on the cause of cancer and other diseases. The cohort will be composed of approximately 112,000 adult study subjects, including 42,000 women, making this one of the largest cohorts of women ever assembled for an epidemiologic investigation of environmental and occupational exposures. Children of farm families also will be enrolled. The study will be conducted in Iowa and North Carolina. Enrollment will begin in December 1993 and continue for 3 years.