2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

335623
Benzene Exposure and Childhood Acute Leukemia in Oklahoma


Monday, November 2, 2015

Amanda Janitz, PhD, MPH, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Janis Campbell, PhD, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Sheryl Magzamen, PhD, Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Anne Pate, PhD, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, OK
Julie Stoner, PhD, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Jennifer Peck, PhD, College of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Background: As a leading cause of childhood mortality, childhood cancer is an important health concern. However, evidence regarding etiology is lacking despite numerous studies. Benzene is an environmental exposure of interest which is a known carcinogen in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The goal of this study was to determine if children with acute leukemia have a higher odds of exposure to benzene than controls.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study matched on week of birth using the Oklahoma Central Cancer Registry as our source for acute leukemia cases diagnosed from 1997-2012 (n=307) and birth certificates to identify controls (n=1,022). To evaluate whether exposure to benzene using the National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) was associated with acute leukemia, we used conditional logistic regression.

Results: We observed no differences in benzene exposure between cases and controls in the univariate analysis or after adjusting for the confounding factors of urbanization and maternal education. However, in evaluating benzene stratified by leukemia type, the estimates for children with AML were stronger than among those with acute lymphoid leukemia, though none of the estimates were significant.

Discussion: Using the NATA estimates to measure benzene allowed us to assess a specific pollutant at the census tract level, which provided an advantage over the use of monitor or point source data. While we did not observe an association between benzene and leukemia, it is important to continue evaluating the effects of benzene in areas with higher exposure concentrations along with other potential health effects of benzene exposure.

Learning Areas:

Environmental health sciences
Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Explain the impact of exposure to benzene on childhood leukemia in Oklahoma.

Keyword(s): Epidemiology, Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: This work is my dissertation work. As a doctoral candidate, I had the primary responsibility for collecting and analyzing the data related to this study.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3195.0: Influence of Policies and Interventions on Cancer Prevention, Screening, Treatment, and Survivorship Outcomes