Relationship of leukaemias with long-term ambient air pollution exposures in the adult Danish population

• Published in: British journal of cancer 2020-12, Vol.123 (12), p.1818-1824
• Main Authors: Puett, Robin C., Poulsen, Aslak Harbo, Taj, Tahir, Ketzel, Matthias, Geels, Camilla, Brandt, Jørgen, Christensen, Jesper H., Sørensen, Mette, Roswall, Nina, Hvidtfeldt, Ulla, Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/499; 692/699/1541/1990/283; Adult; Adults; Aged; Air Pollutants - toxicity; Air pollution; Air Pollution - adverse effects; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Black carbon; Cancer Research; Case-Control Studies; Denmark - epidemiology; Diagnosis; Drug Resistance; Environmental Exposure - adverse effects; Epidemiology; Female; Humans; Incidence; Leukemia; Leukemia - epidemiology; Leukemia - etiology; Male; Middle Aged; Molecular Medicine; Nitrogen dioxide; Nitrogen Dioxide - toxicity; Oncology; Ozone - toxicity; Particulate matter; Particulate Matter - toxicity; Pollutants; Population studies; Regression analysis; Soot - toxicity; Time Factors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0007-0920; 1532-1827
• DOI: 10.1038/s41416-020-01058-2

Background Few population-based epidemiological studies of adults have examined the relationship between air pollution and leukaemias. Methods Using Danish National Cancer Registry data and Danish DEHM-UBM-AirGIS system-modelled air pollution exposures, we examined whether particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and ozone (O 3 ) averaged over 1, 5 or 10 years were associated with adult leukaemia in general or by subtype. In all, 14,986 adult cases diagnosed 1989–2014 and 51,624 age, sex and time-matched controls were included. Separate conditional logistic regression models, adjusted for socio-demographic factors, assessed exposure to each pollutant with leukaemias. Results Fully adjusted models showed a higher risk of leukaemia with higher 1-, 5- and 10-year-average exposures to PM 2.5 prior to diagnosis (e.g. OR per 10 µg/m 3 for 10-year average: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.32), and a positive relationship with 1-year average BC. Results were driven by participants 70 years and older (OR per 10 µg/m 3 for 10-year average: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.15–1.58). Null findings for younger participants. Higher 1-year average PM 2.5 exposures were associated with higher risks for acute myeloid and chronic lymphoblastic leukaemia. Conclusion Among older adults, higher risk for leukaemia was associated with higher residential PM 2.5 concentrations averaged over 1, 5 and 10 years prior to diagnosis.