Risk of vocal chord dysplasia in relation to smoking, alcohol intake and occupation

The significance of tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and occupation as risk factors for the development of vocal chord dysplasia was evaluated in a case-control study. Twenty-seven male patients with dysplasia of the vocal chords were chosen from the I. ENT-University Clinic in Vienna (1985-1988) and compared with 54 controls. The main results are: The relative risk (RR) of a smoker compared to that of a non-smoker for vocal chord dysplasia is 7.27 (6.81-7.73); the RR adjusted for occupation is 3.58 (2.31-4.84). The most important risk factor, however, is occupational exposure. The relative risk of a blue collar worker compared to that of a white collar worker is 11.04 (10.61-11.46), which is reduced only to 10.02 (10.61-11.46) after stratification according to smoking habits.