Occupational sunlight exposure and mortality from non-Hodgkin lymphoma among electric utility workers

This case-control study examined occupational sunlight exposure and death from non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and NHL subtypes among 188 cases and 1880 controls selected from a cohort of 138,905 male electric utility workers. Exposure was classified according to work history linked to indices of cumulative sunlight exposure. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were derived from conditional logistic regression models and were conditioned on the matching factors birth year and ethnicity. Mortality from NHL and intermediate/high-grade lymphomas was not related to cumulative sunlight exposure, with odds ratios around the null. For low-grade lymphomas, a dose-response gradient was observed for exposure in the past 12 to 21 years, but this result seemed to be sensitive to cut points for categorization of cumulative exposure. These data do not provide evidence for an association between occupational sunlight exposure and mortality from NHL or NHL subtypes.