OCCUPATIONAL RISK-FACTORS FOR PROSTATE-CANCER MORTALITY IN BRITISH-COLUMBIA, CANADA

Background Although prostate cancer is the most common life-threatenin g cancer among males in North America, relatively little is known abou t its etiology. We have conducted a proportional mortality study to ge nerate hypotheses concerning occupational risk factors for the disease . Methods Age standardized proportional mortality ratios (PMR) for pro state cancer were calculated for a total of 216 occupations and 88 ind ustries. Separate calculations were done for all male deaths age 20 an d up and for deaths that occurred during men's working lifetime (age 2 0-65). Results Elevated mortality from prostate cancer was seen among business owners and managers (PMR = 110; 95%CI = 101-118), brokers (PM R = 184; 95%CI = 122-266), farmers and farm managers (PMR = 112; 95%CI = 105-120), and school teachers (PMR = 133; 95%CI = 101-174). Evaluat ion by industry shows elevated prostate cancer mortality in agricultur e (PMR = 110; 95%CI = 103-118), financial institutions (PMR = 138, 95% CI = 112-170), and transportation equipment manufacture (PMR = 136; 95 %CI = 109-168). Conclusions The findings suggest that workers in a num ber of occupations have elevated risks of prostate cancer including fa rmers and teachers. More detailed cohort and case-control studies, eva luating specific exposures are required before primary prevention prog rams in the workplace are feasible. Am. J. Ind. Med. 35:82-86, 1999. ( C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.