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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Betsey M. Gardstein, MSPH and Letitia Davis, ScD. Occupational Health Surveillance Program, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 250 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108, (617) 624-5624, Betsey.Gardstein@state.ma.us
Background: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in Massachusetts. The age-adjusted incidence increased by approximately 30% from 1982 to 1992. Although there are many well-established risk factors for breast cancer, occupational exposures have not been fully explored.
Methods: Subjects were identified through the Massachusetts Cancer Registry. The study group (N=44,363) was limited to cancer cases diagnosed between 1982 and 1992 among women at least eighteen years old with known occupations. A case-control study design was utilized. Cases included all non-lymphoma breast cancer cases. Controls included all other known cancer cases. Two Mantel-Haenszel odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were computed for selected occupations and occupational groups: one adjusting for age, and the other controlling for age and socioeconomic status (SES).
Results: There were 15,549 cases and 28,814 controls. Billing clerks (OR=2.46; p<0.001), radiologic technicians (OR=1.93; p<0.05), and pressing machine operators (OR=1.47; p=0.07) are examples of occupations with elevated risks of breast cancer. In general, age-adjusted ORs greater than one were observed among women in higher SES occupations, whereas most of the decreased risks were associated with lower SES.
Conclusions: We found that breast cancer risk varied with reported occupation. SES, an indicator for several breast cancer risk factors, may account for some of the increased risk associated with occupation. Overall, the high-risk occupations were more likely to be sedentary in nature, supporting the association between low physical activity and breast cancer risk. Further etiologic studies are needed to verify the high risks of targeted occupations.
Learning Objectives: Participants in this session will be able to
Keywords: Breast Cancer, Occupational Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.