Lymphoma risk among animal breeders

Objectives Occupational contact with breeding animals might be implicated in lymphoma aetiology. Methods In 1998–2003, 2337 incident lymphoma cases and 2434 controls participated in the EPILYMPH case-control study in six European countries. A detailed occupational history was collected in cases and controls, including species of breeding animals, their approximate number, and circumstances of contact. We conducted a preliminary analysis on ever exposed to contact with breeding animals, and we stratifi ed the analysis by age at fi rst exposure, whether before or after 12. The OR and its 95% CI was calculated with unconditional logistic Downloaded from oem.bmj.com on July 12, 2012 - Published by group.bmj.com Abstracts Occup Environ Med 2011;68(Suppl 1):A1–A127 A35 regression for all lymphomas, and its major subtypes, adjusting by age, gender, and education. Results Lymphoma risk (all subtypes combined) did not increase among those exposed to contact with breeding animals (OR = 1.0, 95% CI 0.8 to 1.2). Risk of DLBCL was signifi - cantly lower among subjects employed in poultry farms (OR = 0.6, 95% CI 0.4 to 1.0). This inverse association was observed among subjects who started exposure before or at age 12 (OR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.2 to 1.1), but not later. Conclusions Early occupational contact with poultry might be associated with a decrease in risk of specifi c lymphoma subtypes.