Solvent exposure and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: no risk in a population-based study in the San Francisco Bay Area

The literature on environmental exposures and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is inconsistent and no occupational exposures have been conclusively identified as causal factors. We used job exposure matrices to assess the association between occupational exposure to solvents in a population-based case-control study of NHL (n = 1,591 cases; n = 2,515 controls) in the San Francisco Bay Area between 1988 and 1995. Occupational histories were collected during in-person interviews and were coded according to the 1980 U.S. Department of Commerce Alphabetic Index of Industries and Occupations. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were adjusted for potential confounders. Our results have provided no support for an association between NHL and occupational exposure to solvents.