Cancer Risk near a Polluted River in Finland
The River Kymijoki in southern Finland is heavily polluted with polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and may pose a health threat to local residents, especially farmers. In this study we investigated cancer risk in people living near the river (< 20.0 km) in 1980. We used a geograp...
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Published in | Environmental health perspectives Vol. 112; no. 9; pp. 1026 - 1031 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. National Institutes of Health. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
01.06.2004
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Institue of Environmental Health Sciences |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The River Kymijoki in southern Finland is heavily polluted with polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and may pose a health threat to local residents, especially farmers. In this study we investigated cancer risk in people living near the river (< 20.0 km) in 1980. We used a geographic information system, which stores registry data, in 500 m x 500 m grid squares, from the Population Register Centre, Statistics Finland, and Finnish Cancer Registry. From 1981 to 2000, cancer incidence in all people (N = 188,884) and in farmers (n = 11,132) residing in the study area was at the level expected based on national rates. Relative risks for total cancer and 27 cancer subtypes were calculated by distance of individuals to the river in 1980 (reference: 5.0-19.9 km, 1.0-4.9 km, < 1.0 km), adjusting for sex, age, time period, socioeconomic status, and distance of individuals to the sea. The respective relative risks for total cancer were 1.00, 1.09 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-1.13], and 1.04 (95% CI, 0.99-1.09) among all residents, and 1.00, 0.99 (95% CI, 0.85-1.15), and 1.13 (95% CI, 0.97-1.32) among farmers. A statistically significant increase was observed for basal cell carcinoma of the skin (not included in total cancers) in all residents < 5.0 km. Several other common cancers, including cancers of the breast, uterine cervix, gallbladder, and nervous system, showed slightly elevated risk estimates at < 5.0 km from the river. Despite the limitations of exposure assessment, we cannot exclude the possibility that residence near the river may have contributed to a small increase in cancer risk, especially among farmers. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 We thank our collaborators in the European Health and Environment Information System for Disease and Exposure Mapping and Risk Assessment (EUROHEIS) project for sharing their expertise in fruitful discussions. This research was supported by grants EU SI2.291820 (2000CVG2-605) and SI2.329122 (2001CVG2-604) from the European Commission Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General; grant 52876 from the Academy of Finland; the Ellen and Artturi Nyyssönen Foundation; and the Paavo Koistinen Foundation. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. |
ISSN: | 0091-6765 1552-9924 |
DOI: | 10.1289/ehp.6741 |