PROPORTIONAL MELANOMA INCIDENCE AND OCCUPATION AMONG WHITE MALES IN LOS-ANGELES-COUNTY (CALIFORNIA, UNITED-STATES)

A case-control analysis of cancer registry data was used to examine th e hypothesis that occupational exposure to sunlight influences the ris k of melanoma. Occupation at diagnosis was available for 3,527 cutaneo us melanomas and 53,129 other cancers identified by the Los Angeles Co unty (California, United States) Cancer Surveillance Program among non -Spanish-surnamed White males aged 20 to 65 years between 1972 and 199 0. Occupational exposure to sunlight was assessed by blinded expert co ding of job titles as indoor, outdoor, and mixed indoor/outdoor. Relat ive to indoor occupations, proportionate odds ratios (OR) adjusted for age, level of education, and birthplace were 1.16 (95 percent confide nce interval [CI] = 1.07-1.27) for indoor/outdoor occupations and 1.15 (CI = 0.94-1.40) for outdoor occupations. However, increasing levels of the education or training required for the occupation was associate d more strongly with increased melanoma occurrence (ORs adjusted for a ge, occupational sun exposure, and birthplace, were 1.0, 1.63, 2.09, 2 .23, and 2.99 for low-skill occupation, high school, college, postgrad uate, and doctoral levels, respectively). Analysis of melanoma occurre nce by job titles confirmed a clear variation by the required educatio n or training level but not by the category of occupational sunlight e xposure. The findings suggest that lifestyle factors associated with h igher levels of education may be more important determinants of melano ma risk than characteristics of the work environment.