1. Outdoor air pollution exposure and uterine cancer incidence in the Sister Study.
- Author
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Brown JA, Ish JL, Chang CJ, Bookwalter DB, O'Brien KM, Jones RR, Kaufman JD, Sandler DP, and White AJ
- Subjects
- Humans, Female, Middle Aged, Incidence, Aged, Proportional Hazards Models, Adult, United States epidemiology, Uterine Neoplasms epidemiology, Uterine Neoplasms etiology, Particulate Matter adverse effects, Particulate Matter analysis, Air Pollution adverse effects, Air Pollution analysis, Nitrogen Dioxide analysis, Nitrogen Dioxide adverse effects, Environmental Exposure adverse effects, Air Pollutants adverse effects, Air Pollutants analysis
- Abstract
Background: Outdoor air pollution is a ubiquitous exposure that includes endocrine-disrupting and carcinogenic compounds that may contribute to the risk of hormone-sensitive outcomes such as uterine cancer. However, there is limited evidence about the relationship between outdoor air pollution and uterine cancer incidence., Methods: We investigated the associations of residential exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with uterine cancer among 33 417 Sister Study participants with an intact uterus at baseline (2003-2009). Annual average air pollutant concentrations were estimated at participants' geocoded primary residential addresses using validated spatiotemporal models. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association between time-varying 12-month PM2.5 (µg/m3) and NO2 (parts per billion; ppb) averages and uterine cancer incidence., Results: Over a median follow-up period of 9.8 years, 319 incident uterine cancer cases were identified. A 5-ppb increase in NO2 was associated with a 23% higher incidence of uterine cancer (hazard ratio = 1.23, 95% confidence interval = 1.04 to 1.46), especially among participants living in urban areas (hazard ratio = 1.53, 95% confidence interval = 1.13 to 2.07), but PM2.5 was not associated with increased uterine cancer incidence., Conclusion: In this large US cohort, NO2, a marker of vehicular traffic exposure, was associated with a higher incidence of uterine cancer. These findings expand the scope of health effects associated with air pollution, supporting the need for policy and other interventions designed to reduce air pollutant exposure., (Published by Oxford University Press 2024.)
- Published
- 2024
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