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Childhood cancer and nuclear power plants in Switzerland: a census-based cohort study

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BORIS DOI
10.7892/boris.7310
Date of Publication
2011
Publication Type
Article
Division/Institute

Institut für Sozial- ...

Author
Spycher, Benorcid-logo
Institut für Sozial- und Präventivmedizin (ISPM)
Feller, Martin
Institut für Sozial- und Präventivmedizin (ISPM)
Zwahlen, Marcelorcid-logo
Institut für Sozial- und Präventivmedizin (ISPM)
Röösli, Martin
von der Weid, Nicolas X
Hengartner, Heinz
Egger, Matthiasorcid-logo
Institut für Sozial- und Präventivmedizin (ISPM)
Kühni, Claudia
Institut für Sozial- und Präventivmedizin (ISPM)
Series
International journal of epidemiology
ISSN or ISBN (if monograph)
0300-5771
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Language
English
Publisher DOI
10.1093/ije/dyr115
PubMed ID
21750009
Description
Background Previous studies on childhood cancer and nuclear power plants (NPPs) produced conflicting results. We used a cohort approach to examine whether residence near NPPs was associated with leukaemia or any childhood cancer in Switzerland.

Methods We computed person-years at risk for children aged 0–15 years born in Switzerland from 1985 to 2009, based on the Swiss censuses 1990 and 2000 and identified cancer cases from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. We geo-coded place of residence at birth and calculated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing the risk of cancer in children born <5 km, 5–10 km and 10–15 km from the nearest NPP with children born >15 km away, using Poisson regression models.

Results We included 2925 children diagnosed with cancer during 21 117 524 person-years of follow-up; 953 (32.6%) had leukaemia. Eight and 12 children diagnosed with leukaemia at ages 0–4 and 0–15 years, and 18 and 31 children diagnosed with any cancer were born <5 km from a NPP. Compared with children born >15 km away, the IRRs (95% CI) for leukaemia in 0–4 and 0–15 year olds were 1.20 (0.60–2.41) and 1.05 (0.60–1.86), respectively. For any cancer, corresponding IRRs were 0.97 (0.61–1.54) and 0.89 (0.63–1.27). There was no evidence of a dose–response relationship with distance (P > 0.30). Results were similar for residence at diagnosis and at birth, and when adjusted for potential confounders. Results from sensitivity analyses were consistent with main results.

Conclusions This nationwide cohort study found little evidence of an association between residence near NPPs and the risk of leukaemia or any childhood cancer.
Handle
https://boris-portal.unibe.ch/handle/20.500.12422/77765
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FileFile TypeFormatSizeLicensePublisher/Copright statementContent
Spycher IntJEpidemiol 2011.pdftextAdobe PDF1002.09 KBAttribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0)publishedOpen
Spycher IntJEpidemiol 2011_webappendix1_7310.pdftextAdobe PDF458.97 KBAttribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0)supplementalOpen
Spycher IntJEpidemiol 2011_webappendix2.pdftextAdobe PDF2.11 MBAttribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0)supplementalOpen
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