Lifestyle factors and risk of leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: a case–control study

Menée en Italie auprès de 294 cas et 279 témoins, cette étude évalue l'association entre des facteurs liés au mode de vie (utilisation de teinture pour cheveux, consommation de thé, d'alcool, tabagisme) et le risque de leucémie ou de lymphome non hodgkinien chez une population adulte

Résumé en anglais

Purpose : Risk factors for leukemia and lymphomas in adults are largely unknown. This study was aimed at evaluating the association between lifestyle factors and the risk of hematological malignancies in an adult population.

Methods : Data were drawn from a population-based case–control study carried out in Italy and included 294 cases (199 lymphoid and 95 myeloid) and 279 controls. Analyses were performed using standard multivariable logistic regression.

Results : Hair dye use for at least 15 years was associated with a higher risk of lymphoid malignancies among females (OR 2.3, 95 % CI 1.0–4.9, p = 0.036, test for trend). Furthermore, a protective effect of a moderate to heavy tea consumption on the risk of myeloid malignancies was observed (OR 0.4, 95 % CI 0.2–0.9, p = 0.017). No association was found for the use of alcoholic beverages and tobacco smoking.

Conclusions : Our results confirm the potential carcinogenic effect of prolonged hair dye use observed in previous investigations. The excess risk could be explained by exposure to a higher concentration of toxic compounds in hair products used in the past. The protective effect of regular tea consumption observed in an area with a very high prevalence of black tea consumers deserves further investigation.