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Patricia A. Buffler - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Mode of Delivery and Risk of Childhood Leukemia
Cancer epidemiology biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research cosponsored by the American Society of Pre, 2014Co-Authors: Stephen S. Francis, Catherine Metayer, Steve Selvin, Joseph L. Wiemels, Vonda Crouse, Amelia D. Wallace, Theodore B. Moore, Patricia A. BufflerAbstract:Background: Childhood infection and immune response have long been suspected in the etiology of Childhood Leukemia, specifically acute lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Normal primary inoculation of the core human microbiome is circumvented by caesarian section(CS) delivery, which is a proposed modulator of both immune response and early life infection. Methods: In this study we examined CS delivery and the risk of Childhood Leukemia using data from the California Childhood Leukemia Study (CCLS) case-control study and additive logistic regression models. Results: We observed no association between CS and acute myeloid Leukemia (AML; OR=0.96, CI=0.52-1.55,). We observed a suggestive association for ALL and CS (OR= 1.22,CI=0.97-1.54). When examining common ALL (cALL), defined as ALL with expression of CD10 and CD19 surface antigens and diagnosis occurring between 2 and 5.9 years of age,we found a significant association with CS (OR 1.44 CI=1.0-2.06 ). ALL subjects that are not cALL showed a similar risk as ALL overall (OR= 1.15, CI=0.91-1.44). Because of previous findings suggesting effect modification, we stratified cALL subjects by Hispanic status. While we observed no relationship for CS in non-Hispanics (OR= 1.14, CI=0.72-1.79), we did observe a strong association between cALL and CS in Hispanics (OR=2.34, CI=1.23-4.46). Conclusion: Within the CCLS, CS delivery appears to be associated with cALL and Hispanic subjects may be driving the association. Impact: Further research combined with investigations into response to early infection and the microbiome are warranted.
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Exposure to electrical contact currents and the risk of Childhood Leukemia.
Radiation Research, 2011Co-Authors: Monique Does, Robert Kavet, Ghislaine Scelo, Catherine Metayer, Steve Selvin, Patricia A. BufflerAbstract:Abstract The objectives of this study were to examine the association between contact current exposure and the risk of Childhood Leukemia and to investigate the relationship between residential contact currents and magnetic fields. Indoor and outdoor contact voltage and magnetic-field measurements were collected for the diagnosis residence of 245 cases and 269 controls recruited in the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study (2000–2007). Logistic regression techniques produced odds ratios (OR) adjusted for age, sex, Hispanic ethnicity, mother's race and household income. No statistically significant associations were seen between Childhood Leukemia and indoor contact voltage level [exposure ≥90th percentile (10.5 mV): OR = 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45, 1.54], outdoor contact voltage level [exposure ≥90th percentile (291.2 mV): OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.48, 1.63], or indoor magnetic-field levels (>0.20 µT: OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.30, 1.93). Contact voltage was weakly correlated with magnetic ...
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Maternal Immunoglobulin E and Childhood Leukemia
Cancer epidemiology biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research cosponsored by the American Society of Pre, 2009Co-Authors: Jeffrey S. Chang, Patricia A. Buffler, Catherine Metayer, Anand P. Chokkalingam, Joe Patoka, Daniel Kronish, Joseph L. WiemelsAbstract:Childhood Leukemia, particularly acute lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), has long been hypothesized to be affected by abnormal immune responses to microbial challenges stemming from a lack of immune modulation in early Childhood. Studies of allergies suggest that a child's immune development may be modulated by maternal immune status. We conducted a study to explore the relationship between maternal immunoglobulin E (IgE) and Childhood Leukemia and to investigate whether maternal immune status can influence Childhood Leukemia risk. Serum total and specific IgE (respiratory and food) were measured in biological mothers of 352 children (193 healthy controls and 159 Leukemia cases, including 139 ALL cases) ages
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Allergies and Childhood Leukemia.
Blood cells molecules & diseases, 2008Co-Authors: Jeffrey S. Chang, Joseph L. Wiemels, Patricia A. BufflerAbstract:A majority of studies to date have reported an inversed association between allergies and Childhood Leukemia. However, this association is likely an indirect one and may represent some shared underlying immune mechanisms that have been explained in the context of the "hygiene hypothesis", which has been thought to play an important role in the development of both allergies and Childhood Leukemia. This review focuses on what we know so far about the role of various immune cells (Th1, Th2, T regulatory and Th17 cells) in the development of allergies and how they may potentially be related to the etiology of Childhood Leukemia. In addition, the utilities of genetic and molecular studies to disentangle the association between allergies and Childhood Leukemia and to elucidate the biological mechanisms are also discussed.
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NQO1 Polymorphisms and De Novo Childhood Leukemia: A HuGE Review and Meta-Analysis
American journal of epidemiology, 2008Co-Authors: Neela Guha, Joseph L. Wiemels, Anand P. Chokkalingam, Jeffrey Chang, Martyn T. Smith, Patricia A. BufflerAbstract:Polymorphisms in NQO1, a gene coding for the phase II enzyme involved in the detoxification of quinone carcinogens, have been associated with Childhood Leukemia in some studies, although the observed direction and magnitude of effects have been inconsistent. Therefore, the authors systematically reviewed all published reports describing the effect of NQO1 in de novo Childhood Leukemia and conducted a meta-analysis of 7 case-control studies that examined the association between NQO1*2 and Childhood Leukemia. Although a family-based study previously demonstrated overtransmission of this allele among Childhood acute lymphoblastic Leukemia cases, the meta-analysis showed that the presence of a NQO1*2 variant allele, which reduces the activity of the enzyme NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), had no significant effect on Childhood Leukemia. However, there was an increased risk associated with having at least 1 copy of the NQO1*2 allele in a subset of cases with MLL translocations (summary odds ratio = 1.39, 95% confidence interval: 0.98, 1.97). Heterogeneity between studies may be due to differences in population exposures to NQO1 substrates and small sample sizes, as well as potential population stratification in non-family-based studies. Therefore, further research is warranted on the role of NQO1 polymorphisms in the etiology of Childhood Leukemia, especially among MLL-positive Leukemias.
Catherine Metayer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Childhood Leukemia: A Preventable Disease
Pediatrics, 2016Co-Authors: Catherine Metayer, Joseph L. Wiemels, Gary V. Dahl, Mark D. MillerAbstract:In contrast to most pediatric cancers, there is a growing body of literature, nationally and internationally, that has implicated the role of several environmental indoor and outdoor hazards in the etiology of Childhood Leukemia. For example, exposures to solvents, traffic, pesticides, and tobacco smoke have consistently demonstrated positive associations with the risk of developing Childhood Leukemia. Intake of vitamins and folate supplementation during the preconception period or pregnancy has been demonstrated to have a protective effect. Despite the strength of these findings, the dissemination of this knowledge to clinicians has been limited. Some children may be more vulnerable than others as documented by the high and increasing incidence of Childhood Leukemia in Hispanics. To protect children’s health, it is prudent to establish programs to alter exposure to those factors with well-established associations with Leukemia risk rather than to suspend judgment until no uncertainty remains. This is particularly true because other serious health outcomes (both negative and positive) have been associated with the same exposures. We draw from historical examples to put in perspective the arguments of association versus causation, as well as to discuss benefits versus risks of immediate and long-term preventive actions.
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Childhood Leukemia and Primary Prevention.
Current problems in pediatric and adolescent health care, 2016Co-Authors: Todd P. Whitehead, Catherine Metayer, Joseph L. Wiemels, Amanda W. Singer, Mark D. MillerAbstract:Leukemia is the most common pediatric cancer, affecting 3800 children per year in the United States. Its annual incidence has increased over the last decades, especially among Latinos. Although most children diagnosed with Leukemia are now cured, many suffer long-term complications, and primary prevention efforts are urgently needed. The early onset of Leukemia—usually before 5 years of age—and the presence at birth of “pre-leukemic” genetic signatures indicate that pre- and postnatal events are critical to the development of the disease. In contrast to most pediatric cancers, there is a growing body of literature—in the United States and internationally—that has implicated several environmental, infectious, and dietary risk factors in the etiology of Childhood Leukemia, mainly for acute lymphoblastic Leukemia, the most common subtype. For example, exposures to pesticides, tobacco smoke, solvents, and traffic emissions have consistently demonstrated positive associations with the risk of developing Childhood Leukemia. In contrast, intake of vitamins and folate supplementation during the preconception period or pregnancy, breastfeeding, and exposure to routine Childhood infections have been shown to reduce the risk of Childhood Leukemia. Some children may be especially vulnerable to these risk factors, as demonstrated by a disproportionate burden of Childhood Leukemia in the Latino population of California. The evidence supporting the associations between Childhood Leukemia and its risk factors—including pooled analyses from around the world and systematic reviews—is strong; however, the dissemination of this knowledge to clinicians has been limited. To protect children’s health, it is prudent to initiate programs designed to alter exposure to well-established Leukemia risk factors rather than to suspend judgment until no uncertainty remains. Primary prevention programs for Childhood Leukemia would also result in the significant co-benefits of reductions in other adverse health outcomes that are common in children, such as detriments to neurocognitive development.
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Parental occupational paint exposure and risk of Childhood Leukemia in the offspring: findings from the Childhood Leukemia International Consortium
Cancer causes & control : CCC, 2014Co-Authors: Helen D. Bailey, Catherine Metayer, Eleni Petridou, Claire Infante-rivard, Logan G. Spector, Corrado Magnani, Lin Fritschi, Eve Roman, Peter Kaatsch, Jacqueline ClavelAbstract:Purpose It has been suggested that parental occupational paint exposure around the time of conception or pregnancy increases the risk of Childhood Leukemia in the offspring.
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Mode of Delivery and Risk of Childhood Leukemia
Cancer epidemiology biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research cosponsored by the American Society of Pre, 2014Co-Authors: Stephen S. Francis, Catherine Metayer, Steve Selvin, Joseph L. Wiemels, Vonda Crouse, Amelia D. Wallace, Theodore B. Moore, Patricia A. BufflerAbstract:Background: Childhood infection and immune response have long been suspected in the etiology of Childhood Leukemia, specifically acute lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Normal primary inoculation of the core human microbiome is circumvented by caesarian section(CS) delivery, which is a proposed modulator of both immune response and early life infection. Methods: In this study we examined CS delivery and the risk of Childhood Leukemia using data from the California Childhood Leukemia Study (CCLS) case-control study and additive logistic regression models. Results: We observed no association between CS and acute myeloid Leukemia (AML; OR=0.96, CI=0.52-1.55,). We observed a suggestive association for ALL and CS (OR= 1.22,CI=0.97-1.54). When examining common ALL (cALL), defined as ALL with expression of CD10 and CD19 surface antigens and diagnosis occurring between 2 and 5.9 years of age,we found a significant association with CS (OR 1.44 CI=1.0-2.06 ). ALL subjects that are not cALL showed a similar risk as ALL overall (OR= 1.15, CI=0.91-1.44). Because of previous findings suggesting effect modification, we stratified cALL subjects by Hispanic status. While we observed no relationship for CS in non-Hispanics (OR= 1.14, CI=0.72-1.79), we did observe a strong association between cALL and CS in Hispanics (OR=2.34, CI=1.23-4.46). Conclusion: Within the CCLS, CS delivery appears to be associated with cALL and Hispanic subjects may be driving the association. Impact: Further research combined with investigations into response to early infection and the microbiome are warranted.
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The Childhood Leukemia International Consortium.
Cancer epidemiology, 2013Co-Authors: Catherine Metayer, Joachim Schüz, Eleni Petridou, Elizabeth Milne, Jacqueline Clavel, Claire Infante-rivard, Malcolm Taylor, Logan G. Spector, John D. Dockerty, Corrado MagnaniAbstract:Abstract Background : Acute Leukemia is the most common cancer in children under 15 years of age; 80% are acute lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and 17% are acute myeloid Leukemia (AML). Childhood Leukemia shows further diversity based on cytogenetic and molecular characteristics, which may relate to distinct etiologies. Case–control studies conducted worldwide, particularly of ALL, have collected a wealth of data on potential risk factors and in some studies, biospecimens. There is growing evidence for the role of infectious/immunologic factors, fetal growth, and several environmental factors in the etiology of Childhood ALL. The risk of Childhood Leukemia, like other complex diseases, is likely to be influenced both by independent and interactive effects of genes and environmental exposures. While some studies have analyzed the role of genetic variants, few have been sufficiently powered to investigate gene–environment interactions. Objectives : The Childhood Leukemia International Consortium (CLIC) was established in 2007 to promote investigations of rarer exposures, gene–environment interactions and subtype-specific associations through the pooling of data from independent studies. Methods : By September 2012, CLIC included 22 studies (recruitment period: 1962–present) from 12 countries, totaling approximately 31000 cases and 50000 controls. Of these, 19 case–control studies have collected detailed epidemiologic data, and DNA samples have been collected from children and child–parent trios in 15 and 13 of these studies, respectively. Two registry-based studies and one study comprising hospital records routinely obtained at birth and/or diagnosis have limited interview data or biospecimens. Conclusions : CLIC provides a unique opportunity to fill gaps in knowledge about the role of environmental and genetic risk factors, critical windows of exposure, the effects of gene–environment interactions and associations among specific Leukemia subtypes in different ethnic groups.
Jeffrey S. Chang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Maternal Immunoglobulin E and Childhood Leukemia
Cancer epidemiology biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research cosponsored by the American Society of Pre, 2009Co-Authors: Jeffrey S. Chang, Patricia A. Buffler, Catherine Metayer, Anand P. Chokkalingam, Joe Patoka, Daniel Kronish, Joseph L. WiemelsAbstract:Childhood Leukemia, particularly acute lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), has long been hypothesized to be affected by abnormal immune responses to microbial challenges stemming from a lack of immune modulation in early Childhood. Studies of allergies suggest that a child's immune development may be modulated by maternal immune status. We conducted a study to explore the relationship between maternal immunoglobulin E (IgE) and Childhood Leukemia and to investigate whether maternal immune status can influence Childhood Leukemia risk. Serum total and specific IgE (respiratory and food) were measured in biological mothers of 352 children (193 healthy controls and 159 Leukemia cases, including 139 ALL cases) ages
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Parental smoking and Childhood Leukemia.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton N.J.), 2009Co-Authors: Jeffrey S. ChangAbstract:Childhood Leukemia is the most common cancer among children, representing 31% of all cancer cases occurring in children younger than the age of 15 years in the USA. There are only few known risk factors of Childhood Leukemia (sex, age, race, exposure to ionizing radiation, and certain congenital diseases, such as Down syndrome and neurofibromatosis), which account for only 10% of the Childhood Leukemia cases. Several lines of evidence suggest that Childhood Leukemia may be more due to environmental rather than genetic factors, although genes may play modifying roles. Human and animal studies showed that the development of Childhood Leukemia is a two-step process that requires a prenatal initiating event(s) plus a postnatal promoting event(s). Despite a substantial public health effort to reduce cigarette smoking, a large proportion of the US and world population still smoke. Tobacco smoke contains at least 60 known human or animal carcinogens, with the major chemical classes being volatile hydrocarbons, aldehydes, aromatic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and nitrosamines; among these chemicals, only benzene is an established leukemogen, although other chemicals in the tobacco could interact with one another in a complex way to jointly attain a significant carcinogenic effect on the development of Leukemia. Although tobacco smoke is an established risk factor for adult myeloid Leukemia, the studies of association between parental smoking and Childhood Leukemia have produced inconsistent results. The majority of the studies on maternal smoking and Childhood Leukemia did not find a significant positive association and some even reported an inverse association. In contrast to studies of maternal smoking, studies of paternal smoking and Childhood Leukemia reported more positive associations but only by less than half of the studies. Future directions to be considered for improving the study of parental smoking and Childhood Leukemia are: 1) consider all sources of benzene exposure in addition to smoking, including occupational exposure and traffic exhausts; 2) Childhood Leukemia is a heterogeneous disease and epidemiologic studies of Childhood Leukemia can be greatly improved by grouping Childhood Leukemia into more homogeneous groups by molecular techniques (e.g., structural and numerical chromosomal changes); and 3) assess gene-environment interaction. It is hoped that through the continual effort, more will be uncovered regarding the causes of Childhood Leukemia. In the meantime, more effort should be spent on educating the parents to quit smoking, because parental smoking is known to affect many Childhood diseases (e.g., asthma, respiratory tract infection, and otitis media) that are much more prevalent than Childhood Leukemia.
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Allergies and Childhood Leukemia.
Blood cells molecules & diseases, 2008Co-Authors: Jeffrey S. Chang, Joseph L. Wiemels, Patricia A. BufflerAbstract:A majority of studies to date have reported an inversed association between allergies and Childhood Leukemia. However, this association is likely an indirect one and may represent some shared underlying immune mechanisms that have been explained in the context of the "hygiene hypothesis", which has been thought to play an important role in the development of both allergies and Childhood Leukemia. This review focuses on what we know so far about the role of various immune cells (Th1, Th2, T regulatory and Th17 cells) in the development of allergies and how they may potentially be related to the etiology of Childhood Leukemia. In addition, the utilities of genetic and molecular studies to disentangle the association between allergies and Childhood Leukemia and to elucidate the biological mechanisms are also discussed.
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Parental Smoking and the Risk of Childhood Leukemia
American journal of epidemiology, 2006Co-Authors: Jeffrey S. Chang, Catherine Metayer, Steve Selvin, Vonda Crouse, Amanda Golembesky, Patricia A. BufflerAbstract:Cigarette smoke has been linked to adult myeloid Leukemia; however, the association between parental smoking and Childhood Leukemia remains unclear. Parental smoking and the risk of Childhood Leukemia were examined in the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study, a case-control study, between 1995 and 2002. The present analysis included 327 acute Childhood Leukemia cases (281 acute lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and 46 acute myeloid Leukemia (AML)) and 416 controls matched on age, sex, maternal race, and Hispanic ethnicity. Maternal smoking was not associated with an increased risk of either ALL or AML. Paternal preconception smoking was significantly associated with an increased risk of AML (odds ratio = 3.84, 95% confidence interval: 1.04, 14.17); an increased risk for ALL was suggestive for paternal preconception smoking (odds ratio = 1.32, 95% confidence interval: 0.86, 2.04). Greater risks of ALL were observed compared with the risk associated with paternal preconception smoking alone, when paternal preconception smoking was combined with maternal postnatal smoking (p(interaction) = 0.004) or postnatal passive smoking exposure (p(interaction) = 0.004). These results strongly suggest that exposure to paternal preconception smoking alone or in combination with postnatal passive smoking may be important in the risk of Childhood Leukemia.
Monique Does - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Exposure to electrical contact currents and the risk of Childhood Leukemia.
Radiation Research, 2011Co-Authors: Monique Does, Robert Kavet, Ghislaine Scelo, Catherine Metayer, Steve Selvin, Patricia A. BufflerAbstract:Abstract The objectives of this study were to examine the association between contact current exposure and the risk of Childhood Leukemia and to investigate the relationship between residential contact currents and magnetic fields. Indoor and outdoor contact voltage and magnetic-field measurements were collected for the diagnosis residence of 245 cases and 269 controls recruited in the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study (2000–2007). Logistic regression techniques produced odds ratios (OR) adjusted for age, sex, Hispanic ethnicity, mother's race and household income. No statistically significant associations were seen between Childhood Leukemia and indoor contact voltage level [exposure ≥90th percentile (10.5 mV): OR = 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45, 1.54], outdoor contact voltage level [exposure ≥90th percentile (291.2 mV): OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.48, 1.63], or indoor magnetic-field levels (>0.20 µT: OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.30, 1.93). Contact voltage was weakly correlated with magnetic ...
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Maternal Pregnancy Loss, Birth Characteristics, and Childhood Leukemia (United States)
Cancer Causes & Control, 2005Co-Authors: Catherine Metayer, Monique Does, Patricia A. BufflerAbstract:Objective: The authors evaluated the relation between maternal pregnancy loss, birth characteristics, and Childhood Leukemia in the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study. Methods: Incident cases of Childhood Leukemia (age 0–14 years) were rapidly ascertained, and controls were randomly selected from birth records and individually matched to cases. A total of 366 cases [313 acute lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and 53 acute myeloid Leukemia (AML)] and 460 controls were included in this analysis. The biological mothers of all subjects provided detailed reproductive history and birth characteristics of the index children during a personal interview. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression. Data on maternal pregnancy loss and birth characteristics were also available from the birth certificates of 96.3% of all subjects. Results: History of miscarriage was associated with a significantly increased risk of AML (OR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.03, 8.34), but not ALL. Neither birth weight, birth order, or parental ages appeared to be an important predictor of the risk of ALL or AML. A comparison between data from two different sources (interview versus birth certificate) indicated good reproducibility and offered some evidence against recall bias. Conclusion: Maternal history of miscarriage is associated with an increased risk of Childhood AML.
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Maternal pregnancy loss, birth characteristics, and Childhood Leukemia (United States).
Cancer causes & control : CCC, 2005Co-Authors: Catherine Metayer, Monique Does, Patricia A. BufflerAbstract:Objective: The authors evaluated the relation between maternal pregnancy loss, birth characteristics, and Childhood Leukemia in the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study.
Leeka Kheifets - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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residential mobility and Childhood Leukemia
Environmental Research, 2018Co-Authors: Aryana T Amoon, Ximena Vergara, Catherine M. Crespi, Sona Oksuzyan, Onyebuchi A Arah, Myles Cockburn, Leeka KheifetsAbstract:Abstract Aims Studies of environmental exposures and Childhood Leukemia studies do not usually account for residential mobility. Yet, in addition to being a potential risk factor, mobility can induce selection bias, confounding, or measurement error in such studies. Using data collected for California Powerline Study (CAPS), we attempt to disentangle the effect of mobility. Methods We analyzed data from a population-based case-control study of Childhood Leukemia using cases who were born in California and diagnosed between 1988 and 2008 and birth certificate controls. We used stratified logistic regression, case-only analysis, and propensity-score adjustments to assess predictors of residential mobility between birth and diagnosis, and account for potential confounding due to residential mobility. Results Children who moved tended to be older, lived in housing other than single-family homes, had younger mothers and fewer siblings, and were of lower socioeconomic status. Odds ratios for Leukemia among non-movers living Conclusion The residential mobility of Childhood Leukemia cases varied by several sociodemographic characteristics, but not by the distance to the nearest power line or calculated magnetic fields. Mobility appears to be an unlikely explanation for the associations observed between power lines exposure and Childhood Leukemia.
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Epidemiology of Childhood Leukemia in the presence and absence of Down syndrome
Cancer epidemiology, 2014Co-Authors: Gabor Mezei, Madhuri Sudan, Shai Izraeli, Leeka KheifetsAbstract:Abstract Down syndrome (DS) is a common congenital anomaly, and children with DS have a substantially higher risk of Leukemia. Although understanding of genetic and epigenetic changes of Childhood Leukemia has improved, the causes of Childhood Leukemia and the potential role of environmental exposures in leukemogenesis remain largely unknown. Although many epidemiologic studies have examined a variety of environmental exposures, ionizing radiation remains the only generally accepted environmental risk factor for Childhood Leukemia. Among suspected risk factors, infections, exposure to pesticides, and extremely low frequency magnetic fields are notable. While there are well-defined differences between Leukemia in children with and without DS, studies of risk factors for Leukemia among DS children are generally consistent with trends seen among non-DS (NDS) children. We provide background on DS epidemiology and review the similarities and differences in biological and epidemiologic features of Leukemia in children with and without DS. We propose that both acute lymphoblastic and acute myeloblastic Leukemia among DS children can serve as an informative model for development of Childhood Leukemia. Further, the high rates of Leukemia among DS children make it possible to study this disease using a cohort approach, a powerful method that is unfeasible in the general population due to the rarity of Childhood Leukemia.
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Childhood Leukemia, electric and magnetic fields, and temporal trends.
Bioelectromagnetics, 2006Co-Authors: Leeka Kheifets, John Swanson, Sander GreenlandAbstract:During the past 25 years concern has been raised about the possible health effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) electric and magnetic fields (EMFs), particularly regarding Childhood Leukemia. Comparison of changes in electricity consumption (a surrogate for exposure) to changes in Childhood-Leukemia rates, known as ecologic correlation, have been used to argue both for and against the association between magnetic fields and Childhood Leukemia. In this paper we explore what can be learned from such an ecologic approach. We first examine separately the evidence on trends in exposure to EMFs and on trends in Leukemia rates, and then compare the two. Both incidence rates and exposures have increased, but there are so many approximations and assumptions involved in connecting the two trends that we cannot regard the ecologic evidence as providing any meaningful evidence for or against a causal link.
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Childhood Leukemia and EMF: review of the epidemiologic evidence.
Bioelectromagnetics, 2005Co-Authors: Leeka Kheifets, Riti ShimkhadaAbstract:All populations are exposed to varying degrees of electromagnetic fields (EMF); in this study we consider only extremely low frequency (ELF) and radio frequency (RF) fields. After the first study of ELF and Childhood Leukemia in 1979, intensive epidemiologic investigation has sought to shed light on the potential relation between EMF and Childhood Leukemia. Consistent associations from epidemiologic studies and two pooled analyses have been the basis for the classification of ELF as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The study of RF is still in its infancy and little is known about residential RF exposure or its potential effects on Childhood Leukemia. The purpose of this study, presented at the WHO Workshop on Sensitivity of Children to EMF in Istanbul, Turkey in June 2004, is to review and critically assess the epidemiologic evidence on EMF and Childhood Leukemia.