Cancer incidence among female manual workers

We investigated cancer incidence during the period 1970-1992 among unskilled Icelandic female workers who contributed to two pension funds for manual workers. We found an increase in the standardized rate ratios (SRRs) for all cancer with increasing time before the follow-up period began. We found no clear relation between cancer incidence and length of employment. The SRRs were higher for those who became members of the funds in 1977 or later than for those who started earlier: among these women, we found SRRs for all cancers, 1.36; cancer of the stomach, 1.49; cancer of the lung, 1.48; cancer of the cervix, 3.19; and cancer of the bladder, 6.00.