Risk of incident hematopoietic cancers in Danish male agricultural workers, 1968-2016

Modern agricultural workers may be exposed to a variety of agents that have the potential to cause hematopoietic cancers, including pesticides and viruses. Exposure levels may vary among different groups of agricultural workers and over time. However, epidemiologic studies examining different agricultural workers are lacking.

The Danish Cancer Registry was used to identify men with selected hematopoietic cancers. A total of 9021 cases were included, and for each case, 50 cancer-free male controls were matched by year of birth. Both cases and controls were required to be born in Denmark and have an employment history, which was obtained from the Supplementary Pension Fund Register.

Ever employment in "agriculture, overall" was associated with an increased risk of Hodgkin's lymphoma (OR=1.39, 95% CI: 1.15-1.68) and myeloid leukemia (OR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.16-1.74). When focusing on ever employment in different agricultural industries, noteworthy increased risk estimates were observed for Hodgkin's lymphoma and "agriculture, unspecified" (OR=1.90, 95% CI: 1.39-2.60) and "farming, livestock" (OR=1.51, 95% CI: 1.12-2.05); non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and "horticulture" (OR=1.33, 95% CI: 1.01-1.74); and myeloid leukemia and "agricultural service" (OR=1.87, 95% CI: 1.17-2.98).

Findings indicated an elevated risk of Hodgkin's lymphoma and myeloid leukemia among Danish men employed in agriculture. Additionally, certain agricultural sectors were associated with a higher risk of specific hematopoietic cancers. Future studies should differentiate between agricultural sectors and include detailed exposure data to better understand the unique disease patterns among agricultural workers.