Household Exposure to Paint and Petroleum Solvents, Chromosomal Translocations and the Risk of Childhood Leukemia
http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2008/11927/abstract.html
Ghislaine Scélo, Catherine Metayer, Luoping Zhang, Joseph L. Wiemels, Melinda C. Aldrich, Steve Selvin, Stacy Month, Martyn T. Smith, and Patricia A. Buffler
Abstract
Abstract in PDF
This EHP-in-Press article has been peer-reviewed, revised, and accepted for publication. The EHP-in-Press articles are completely citable using the assigned DOI code for the article. This document will be replaced with the copyedited and formatted version as soon as it is available. Through the DOI number used in the citation, you will be able to access this document at each stage of the publication process. Environ Health Perspect doi:10.1289/ehp.11927 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 10 October 2008]
Abstract
Background: Few studies have examined the association between home use of solvents and
paint and the risk of childhood leukemia.
Objectives: In this case-control study, we examined whether the use of paint and petroleum
solvents at home before birth and in early childhood influenced the risk of leukemia in
children.
Methods: Our analyses were based on 550 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 100
cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and 1 or 2 controls per case individually matched for
sex, age, Hispanic status, and race. Further analyses were conducted by cytogenetic
subtype. Conditional logistic regression techniques were used to adjust for income.
Results: ALL risk was significantly associated with paint exposure (odds ratio (OR)=1.65,
95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.26-2.15) with a higher risk observed when paint was
used postnatally, by a person other than the mother, or frequently. The association was
restricted to leukemia with translocations between chromosomes 12 and 21 (OR=4.16, 95%
CI 1.66-10.4). No significant association was found between solvent use and ALL risk overall
(OR=1.15, 95% CI 0.87-1.51) or for various cytogenetic subtypes, but a significant
association was observed in the 2.0-5.9 age group (OR=1.55, 95% CI 1.07-2.25). In contrast,
a significant increased risk for AML was associated with solvent (OR=2.54, 95% CI 1.19-
5.42) but not with paint exposure (OR=0.64, 95% CI 0.32-1.25).
Conclusions: The association of ALL risk with paint exposure was strong, consistent with a
causal relationship, while further studies are needed to confirm the association of ALL and
AML risk with solvent exposure.
