PROCESSED MEATS AND RISK OF CHILDHOOD LEUKEMIA (CALIFORNIA, USA)

The relation between the intake of certain food items thought to be pr ecursors or inhibitors of N-nitroso compounds (NOC) and risk of leukem ia was investigated in a case-control study among children from birth to age 10 years in Los Angeles County, California (United States). Cas es were ascertained through a population-based tumor registry from 198 0 to 1987. Controls were drawn from friends and by random-digit dialin g. Interviews were obtained from 232 cases and 232 controls. Food item s of principal interest were: breakfast meats (bacon, sausage, ham); l uncheon meats (salami, pastrami, lunch meat, corned beef, bologna); ho t dogs; oranges and orange juice; and grapefruit and grapefruit juice. We also asked about intake of apples and apple juice, regular and cha rcoal broiled meats, milk, coffee, and coke or cola drinks. Usual cons umption frequencies were determined for both parents and the child. Wh en the risks were adjusted for each other and other risk factors, the only persistent significant associations were for children's intake of hot dogs (odds ratio [OR] = 9.5,95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.6-57.6 for 12 or more hot dogs per month, trend P = 0.01), and fath ers' intake of hot dogs (OR = 11.0, CI = 1.2-98.7 for highest intake c ategory, trend P = 0.01). There was no evidence that fruit intake prov ided protection. While these results are compatible with the experimen tal animal literature and the hypothesis that human NOC intake is asso ciated with leukemia risk, given potential biases in the data, further study of this hypothesis with more focused and comprehensive epidemio logic studies is warranted.