Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and occupational exposure to agricultural pesticide chemical groups and active ingredients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Journal or Publishing Institution: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24762670

Author(s): Schinasi, L. and Leon, M.E.

Article Type: Peer Reviewed Study

Record ID: 2288

Abstract: This paper describes results from a systematic review and a series of meta-analyses of nearly three decades worth of epidemiologic research on the relationship between non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and occupational exposure to agricultural pesticide active ingredients and chemical groups. Estimates of associations of NHL with 21 pesticide chemical groups and 80 active ingredients were extracted from 44 papers, all of which reported results from analyses of studies conducted in high-income countries. Random effects meta-analyses showed that phenoxy herbicides, carbamate insecticides, organophosphorus insecticides and the active ingredient lindane, an organochlorine insecticide, were positively associated with NHL. In a handful of papers, associations between pesticides and NHL subtypes were reported; B cell lymphoma was positively associated with phenoxy herbicides and the organophosphorus herbicide glyphosate. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was positively associated with phenoxy herbicide exposure. Despite compelling evidence that NHL is associated with certain chemicals, this review indicates the need for investigations of a larger variety of pesticides in more geographic areas, especially in low- and middle-income countries, which, despite producing a large portion of the world’s agriculture, were missing in the literature that were reviewed.

Keywords: Pesticides, Insecticides, Herbicides, Fungicides, Occupational, Agricultural, Agricultural Workers’ Diseases, Humans, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Occupational Exposure, Pesticides, Chemically Induced, Epidemiology, Adverse Effects, Toxicity

Citation: Schinasi, L. and Leon, M.E., 2014. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and occupational exposure to agricultural pesticide chemical groups and active ingredients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(4), pp.4449-4527.