TY - JOUR

T1 - Long-term follow-up for cancer incidence in a cohort of Danish firefighters

AU - Kirstine Ugelvig Petersen, Kajsa

AU - Pedersen, Julie Elbaek

AU - Bonde, Jens Peter

AU - Ebbehoej, Niels Erik

AU - Hansen, Johnni

N1 - © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

PY - 2018/4/1

Y1 - 2018/4/1

N2 - OBJECTIVES: To examine cancer incidence among Danish firefighters using several employment-related exposure subgroups.METHODS: A historical cohort of 9061 male Danish firefighters was established from collected personnel and membership records from employers and trade unions. Using the unique Danish personal identification number, information on additional previous employment, cancer and vital status was linked to members of the cohort from the Supplementary Pension Fund Register, the Danish Cancer Registry and the Danish Civil Registration System. SIRs were calculated for specific cancer types using rates for the general population, a sample of the working population and military employees, respectively.RESULTS: Compared with the selected reference groups, the overall observed incidence of cancer among the firefighters was at level with the expected (SIR 1.02, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.09 vs the general population). The SIR for colon cancer was consistently significantly reduced, while the slight excess seen for melanoma of the skin, prostate and testicular cancer compared with the general population was not reproduced using the military as reference.CONCLUSIONS: Previous associations with melanoma of the skin, prostate and testicular cancer are supported by our main results. However, the increase in incidence of these cancers is not reproduced using the military as reference. Similarities in cancer profile for the firefighters and the military point to shared risk factors in either lifestyle or work environment.

AB - OBJECTIVES: To examine cancer incidence among Danish firefighters using several employment-related exposure subgroups.METHODS: A historical cohort of 9061 male Danish firefighters was established from collected personnel and membership records from employers and trade unions. Using the unique Danish personal identification number, information on additional previous employment, cancer and vital status was linked to members of the cohort from the Supplementary Pension Fund Register, the Danish Cancer Registry and the Danish Civil Registration System. SIRs were calculated for specific cancer types using rates for the general population, a sample of the working population and military employees, respectively.RESULTS: Compared with the selected reference groups, the overall observed incidence of cancer among the firefighters was at level with the expected (SIR 1.02, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.09 vs the general population). The SIR for colon cancer was consistently significantly reduced, while the slight excess seen for melanoma of the skin, prostate and testicular cancer compared with the general population was not reproduced using the military as reference.CONCLUSIONS: Previous associations with melanoma of the skin, prostate and testicular cancer are supported by our main results. However, the increase in incidence of these cancers is not reproduced using the military as reference. Similarities in cancer profile for the firefighters and the military point to shared risk factors in either lifestyle or work environment.

KW - cancer

KW - cohort

KW - epidemiology

KW - firefighters

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045117444&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1136/oemed-2017-104660

DO - 10.1136/oemed-2017-104660

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 29055884

VL - 75

SP - 263

EP - 269

JO - Occupational and Environmental Medicine

JF - Occupational and Environmental Medicine

SN - 1351-0711

IS - 4

ER -