Ambient ultrafine particle concentrations and incidence of childhood cancers

Eric Lavigne; Isac Lima; Marianne Hatzopoulou; Keith Van Ryswyk; Aaron van Donkelaar; Randall V. Martin; Hong Chen; David M. Stieb; Eric Crighton; Richard T. Burnett; Scott Weichenthal

Environment International (Dec 2020)

Ambient ultrafine particle concentrations and incidence of childhood cancers

Eric Lavigne,
Isac Lima,
Marianne Hatzopoulou,
Keith Van Ryswyk,
Aaron van Donkelaar,
Randall V. Martin,
Hong Chen,
David M. Stieb,
Eric Crighton,
Richard T. Burnett,
Scott Weichenthal

Affiliations

Eric Lavigne: Air Health Science Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Corresponding author at: Air Health Science Division, Health Canada, 269 Laurier Avenue West, Mail stop 4903B, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9, Canada.
Isac Lima: Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Marianne Hatzopoulou: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Keith Van Ryswyk: Air Health Science Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Aaron van Donkelaar: Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
Randall V. Martin: Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
Hong Chen: Population Studies Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
David M. Stieb: School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Population Studies Division, Health Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Eric Crighton: Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Richard T. Burnett: School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Population Studies Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Scott Weichenthal: Air Health Science Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 145
p. 106135

Abstract

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Background: Ambient air pollution has been associated with childhood cancer. However, little is known about the possible impact of ambient ultrafine particles (<0.1 μm) (UFPs) on childhood cancer incidence. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between prenatal and childhood exposure to UFPs and development of childhood cancer. Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study of within-city spatiotemporal variations in ambient UFPs across the City of Toronto, Canada using 653,702 singleton live births occurring between April 1, 1998 and March 31, 2017. Incident cases of 13 subtypes of paediatric cancers among children up to age 14 were ascertained using a cancer registry. Associations between ambient air pollutant concentrations and childhood cancer incidence were estimated using random-effects Cox proportional hazards models. We investigated both single- and multi-pollutant models accounting for co-exposures to PM2.5 and NO2. Results: A total of 1,066 childhood cancers were identified. We found that first trimester exposure to UFPs (Hazard Ratio (HR) per 10,000/cm3 increase = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.03–1.22) was associated with overall cancer incidence diagnosed before 6 years of age after adjusting for PM2.5, NO2, and for personal and neighborhood-level covariates. Association between UFPs and overall cancer incidence exhibited a linear shape. No statistically significant associations were found for specific cancer subtypes. Conclusion: Ambient UFPs may represent a previously unrecognized risk factor in the aetiology of cancers in children. Our findings reinforce the importance of conducting further research on the effects of UFPs given their high prevalence of exposure in urban areas.

Published in Environment International

ISSN: 0160-4120 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international

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