Cancer and aplastic anemia in British Columbia farmers
Gallagher, R.P.; Threlfall, W.J.; Jeffries, E.; Band, P.R.; Spinelli, J.; Coldman, A.J.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute 72(6): 1311-1315
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0027-8874 PMID: 6587150 Document Number: 237761
For evaluation of occupational mortality in agriculture, age-standardized proportional mortality ratios (PMR) were calculated for 28 032 male farmers with the use of British Columbia death registrations collected from 1950 to 1978. Farmers had significantly high risks of death from cancer of the lip (PMR 191), stomach (PMR 119) and prostate gland (PMR 113). Leukaemia risk was higher than expected (PMR 122), as was aplastic anaemia (PMR 174). The high risks were fairly consistent throughout the 29-year period for stomach, prostate gland and lip cancer and for leukaemia. The PMR for aplastic anaemia was highest for the years 1950-59 and declined during the next 19 years. Farmers also showed significant mortality deficits for several important cancer sites, including oesophagus (PMR 59), colon (PMR 84), larynx (PMR 62) and lung (PMR 66) during 1950-78.