Thursday July 16 1:13 PM EDT
Jobs tied to reproductive cancer risk
NEW YORK, Jul 16 (Reuters) -- Some jobs appear to be associated with a higher risk of death from cancers affecting the female reproductive system, according to a review of the causes of death in women in 24 states between 1984 and 1993.
Analyzing information on more than 47,000 women who died of reproductive cancers, the authors found that those with certain jobs ran increased risks of dying of endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancer.
Women in manufacturing, service, agricultural, and certain healthcare jobs had a higher-than-average risk of dying of cervical cancer, the authors found. And women in professional and administrative occupations ran an increased risk of dying of endometrial and ovarian cancer, they report in the July issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
In some cases, the link between occupation and increased risk was more straightforward than in others, note the authors, a team of researchers led by Dr. Maria Sala, of the Institut Municipal d'Investigacio Medica, in Barcelona, Spain.
Industrial, agricultural, and service sector employees are more likely to be exposed to potentially carcinogenic chemicals and other substances on the job, the researchers point out. And this might partly explain their higher than average risk of death from certain cancers. Likewise, some healthcare workers have "numerous hazardous exposures, including radiation, chemotherapeutic drugs, and viruses," that could partly explain their increased risks.
"In some studies, smoking has been found to be associated with cervical cancer... which could explain part of the risk observed in food service workers, who have higher rates of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke," Sala and colleagues add.
Previous studies have found that women who have children relatively late in life, or not at all, run an increased risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer, the researchers note. And this may explain, in part, the higher rates of deaths from these cancers among professional women.
"Professional occupations are characterized by high income and educational level... and often delayed childbearing," and low birth rates, the researchers point out.
But other factors -- including on-the-job exposure to toxins -- may also play a role in endometrial and ovarian cancers, since women working in certain blue-collar jobs also ran a higher-than-average risk of dying of these cancers, Sala and co-authors write. Women in agriculture and industry -- particularly the paper industry -- were at increased risk of dying of endometrial cancer. And those in the printing, soap and cosmetics industries -- which "involve exposure to a wide range of chemicals" -- had higher-than-average odds of dying of ovarian cancer.
Why teachers ran a particularly high risk of endometrial and ovarian cancers, however, is not clear, the authors note. Nor is it clear why the highest risks for cervical cancer were among actors, directors, compositors, and artists.
"Associations with some occupations with potential for exposure to chemicals and metals, such as the association between cervical cancer and employment in printing, typesetting, and machine operating occupations, deserve further attention. Similarly, further investigation should be made into the excess of ovarian cancer observed in several occupations in the healthcare industry," Sala and colleagues conclude. SOURCE: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1998;40:632-639.
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