Title
Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and lung cancer risk
Author
Beelen, R.
Hoek, G.
van den Brandt, P.A.
Goldbohm, R.A.
Fischer, P.
Schouten, L.J.
Armstrong, B.
Brunekreef, B.
TNO Kwaliteit van Leven
Publication year
2008
Abstract
Background: Most studies on the association between lung cancer and air pollution have investigated mortality. There have been few studies of lung cancer incidence. Methods: We used data from the ongoing Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer for 114,378 subjects with follow-up from September 1986 to December 1997. Exposure to black smoke, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter ≥2.5 μm (PM2.5) and traffic intensity variables (intensity on nearest road, intensity in a 100 m buffer, and an indicator variable for living close to a major road) were estimated at the home address. We conducted Cox proportional hazard analyses in the full cohort adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, and area-level socioeconomic status. We also carried out case-cohort analyses using more potential confounders on a subset of study participants for whom complete information from the baseline questionnaire had been processed. Results: Adjusted analyses included 1940 cases for the full cohort and 1295 cases for the case-cohort analysis. Relative risks (RRs) for the overall air pollution concentrations were slightly below unity, and for the traffic variables RRs were slightly elevated. Risk was elevated among people who never smoked cigarettes (40,114 participants; 252 cases), with RRs of 1.47 (95% confidence interval ≤ 1.01-2.16) for overall black smoke concentration, 1.11 (0.88-1.41) for traffic intensity on nearest road, and 1.55 (0.98-2.43) for living near a major road. Conclusions: We found evidence for an association of exposure to black smoke and traffic with lung cancer incidence in people who had never smoked. No associations were found for the full cohort, or for other categories of smoking. Copyright © 2008 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Subject
Healthy for Life
Health
Healthy Living
nitrogen dioxide
sulfur dioxide
adult
aged
article
cancer risk
cigarette smoking
cohort analysis
concentration (parameters)
demography
environmental exposure
exhaust gas
female
follow up
human
human experiment
long term exposure
lung cancer
male
Netherlands
particulate matter
priority journal
questionnaire
risk factor
smoke
social status
air pollutant
chemically induced disorder
classification
incidence
international classification of diseases
lung tumor
medical record
middle aged
register
Aged
Air Pollutants
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Incidence
International Classification of Diseases
Lung Neoplasms
Male
Medical Record Linkage
Middle Aged
Netherlands
Registries
Vehicle Emissions
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6538cea6-c0ac-414f-85b0-aded85a2b5e9
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1097/ede.0b013e318181b3ca
TNO identifier
240996
ISSN
1044-3983
Source
Epidemiology, 19 (5), 702-710
Document type
article