Where Kids Live Determines Cancer Risk
August 20, 2004
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Where you live could play a role in your child’s risk for leukemia. A new study shows living close to an auto repair garage or gas station could quadruple the risk of acute childhood leukemia.
About four in every 100,000 children are diagnosed with leukemia. It is the most common type of childhood cancer in developed countries. Researchers say not many risk factors have been determined for this disease in children, however, benzene exposure has been identified as a risk factor for leukemia in adults. Gas stations and commercial garages are a source of benzene emissions.
Researchers in France conducted a study to look at benzene exposure and the risk for leukemia. They included 280 children with leukemia and 285 healthy children. All of the children were between 2 and 6 years old.
For the study, researchers interviewed the mothers about their employment and the area in which they live. While study authors did not find an association between the mother’s occupation during pregnancy or the levels of residential traffic and the risk of leukemia, they did find an association between a gas station or garage near the home and the risk of leukemia. They report children who live near a gas station or garage are four-times as likely to develop leukemia. They also say the longer the child has lived near them, the higher the risk for leukemia seems to be.
While further research is needed to confirm this finding, study authors write, “These findings, as far as we know, have never been described before and could be due to chance. However, the strength of the association and the duration trend are arguments for a causal association.”
SOURCE: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2004;61:773-778
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