Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Study carcinogenicity of inorganic lead, classified as 'probably carcinogenic' to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (brain, lung, kidney and stomach). METHODS: We conducted internal and external analyses for cancer incidence in two cohorts of 29 874 lead-exposed workers with past blood lead data (Finland, n=20 752, Great Britain=9122), with 6790 incident cancers. Exposure was maximum measured blood lead. RESULTS: The combined cohort had a median maximum blood lead of 29 mug/dL, a mean first blood lead test of 1977, and was 87% male. Significant (p40 mug/dL) showed a significant excess for lung cancer in both countries combined, and significant excesses in Finland for brain and lung cancer. The Great Britain data were limited by small numbers for some cancers, and limited variation in exposure. CONCLUSIONS: We found strong positive incidence trends with increasing blood lead level, for several outcomes in internal analysis. Two of these, lung and brain cancer, were sites of a priori interest.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 603-610 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Occup Environ Med |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Early online date | 11 Jul 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Keywords
- Cohort Studies Female Finland/epidemiology Humans Incidence Lead/*adverse effects/*blood Male Neoplasms/blood/*epidemiology Occupational Diseases/blood/*epidemiology Occupational Exposure/*adverse effects Proportional Hazards Models United Kingdom/epidemiology *cancer *epidemiology *occupational health practice
