Authors: Weng, Hsu-Huei¹; Tsai, Shang-Shyue²; Chiu, Hui-Fen³; Wu, Trong-Neng⁴; Yang, Chun-Yuh⁵

Source: Inhalation Toxicology, Volume 20, Number 1, February 2008 , pp. 31-36(6)

Publisher: Informa Healthcare

Abstract:

To investigate the relationship between petrochemical air pollution and childhood leukemia (19 yr of age or younger), the authors conducted a matched case-control study using childhood deaths that occurred in Taiwan from 1995 through 2005. Data on all eligible childhood leukemia deaths were obtained from the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Taiwan Provincial Department of Health. The control group consisted of children who died from causes other than neoplasms or diseases that were not associated with respiratory problems. The controls were pair matched to the cases by sex, year of birth, and year of death. Each matched control was selected randomly from the set of possible controls for each case. The proportion of a municipality's total population employed in the petrochemical industry in a municipality was used as an indicator of a resident's exposure to air emissions from the petrochemical industry. The subjects were divided into three levels (≤25th percentile; 25th-75th percentile; > 75th percentile) according to the levels of the index just described. After controlling for possible confounders, results showed that children who lived in the group of municipalities characterized by the highest levels of petrochemical air pollution had a statistically significant higher risk of developing leukemia than the group that lived in municipalities with the lowest petrochemical air pollution levels. The results of this study shed important light on the relationship between the Taiwan petrochemical industry and human health risks.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08958370701758734

Affiliations: 1: Graduate Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, College of Health Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan,Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Chiayi, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, T 2: Department of Healthcare Administration, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung County, Taiwan 3: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 4: Graduate Institute of Environmental Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan 5: Faculty of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Publication date: 2008-02-01

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