Canadian male farm residents, pesticide safety handling practices, exposure to animals and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)

Background A majority of published studies indicate that farmers have an elevated risk of developing non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) compared to other workers. Methods We evaluated accidental exposure to pesticides, the use of personal protective equipment, and exposure to animals among male farm residents in a Canadian population‐based, multi‐centre, NHL‐control questionnaire study. Results In a multivariate model, the following variables had statistically significant adjusted odds ratios (OR) using 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) (a) higher risk: having more than 13 head of swine, raising bison, elk or ostriches, a personal history of cancer, > 4 and ≤ 15 years of farm residence and occupational exposure to diesel fuel and exhaust; (b) lower risk: raising cattle and a personal history of measles. Conclusions Future multidisciplinary studies of NHL should include a comprehensive review of exposure to animals in sufficient detail to assess etiological mechanisms to explain the putative associations between exposure to farm animals and NHL. Am. J. Ind. Med. Suppl. 2:54–61, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.