TY - JOUR
T1 - Level of education and the risk of lymphoma in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition
AU - Hermann, Silke
AU - Rohrmann, Sabine
AU - Linseisen, Jakob
AU - Nieters, Alexandra
AU - Khan, Aneire
AU - Gallo, Valentina
AU - Overvad, Kim
AU - Tjonneland, Anne
AU - Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole
AU - Bergmann, Manuela M.
AU - Boeing, Heiner
AU - Becker, Nikolaus
AU - Kaaks, Rudolf
AU - Bueno-de-Mesquita, H. Bas
AU - May, Anne M.
AU - Vermeulen, Roel C. H.
AU - Bingham, Sheila
AU - Khaw, Kay-Tee
AU - Key, Timothy J.
AU - Travis, Ruth C.
AU - Trichopoulou, Antonia
AU - Georgila, Christina
AU - Triantafylou, Dimitra
AU - Celentano, Egidio
AU - Krogh, Vittorio
AU - Masala, Giovanna
AU - Tumino, Rosario
AU - Agudo, Antonio
AU - Altzibar, Jone M.
AU - Ardanaz, Eva
AU - Martinez-Garcia, Carmen
AU - Argueelles Suarez, Marcial Vicente
AU - Jose Tormo, Maria
AU - Braaten, Tonje
AU - Lund, Eiliv
AU - Manjer, Jonas
AU - Zackrisson, Sophia
AU - Hallmans, Goran
AU - Malmer, Beatrice
AU - Boffetta, Paolo
AU - Brennan, Paul
AU - Slimani, Nadia
AU - Vineis, Paolo
AU - Riboli, Elio
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Lymphomas belong to the few cancer sites with increasing incidence over past decades, and only a few risk factors have been established. We explored the association between education and the incidence of lymphoma in the prospective EPIC study. Within 3,567,410 person-years of follow-up, 1,319 lymphoma cases [1,253 non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) and 66 Hodgkin lymphomas (HL)] were identified. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to examine the association between highest educational level (primary school or less, technical/professional school, secondary school, university) and lymphoma risk. Overall, no consistent associations between educational level and lymphoma risk were observed; however, associations were found for sub-groups of the cohort. We observed a higher risk of B-NHL (HR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.02-1.68; n = 583) in women with the highest education level (university) but not in men. Concerning sub-classes of B-NHL, a positive association between education and risk of B cell chronic lymphatic leukaemia (BCLL) was observed only in women. In both genders, the risk of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was significantly lower for subjects with university degree (HR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.27-0.79) versus lowest educational level. No association was found for HL. We could not confirm an overall consistent association of education and risk of HL or NHL in this large prospective study; although, education was positively related to the incidence of BCLL and B-NHL (in women) but inversely to incidence of DLBCL. Due to limited number of cases in sub-classes and the large number of comparisons, the possibility of chance findings can not be excluded.
AB - Lymphomas belong to the few cancer sites with increasing incidence over past decades, and only a few risk factors have been established. We explored the association between education and the incidence of lymphoma in the prospective EPIC study. Within 3,567,410 person-years of follow-up, 1,319 lymphoma cases [1,253 non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) and 66 Hodgkin lymphomas (HL)] were identified. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to examine the association between highest educational level (primary school or less, technical/professional school, secondary school, university) and lymphoma risk. Overall, no consistent associations between educational level and lymphoma risk were observed; however, associations were found for sub-groups of the cohort. We observed a higher risk of B-NHL (HR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.02-1.68; n = 583) in women with the highest education level (university) but not in men. Concerning sub-classes of B-NHL, a positive association between education and risk of B cell chronic lymphatic leukaemia (BCLL) was observed only in women. In both genders, the risk of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was significantly lower for subjects with university degree (HR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.27-0.79) versus lowest educational level. No association was found for HL. We could not confirm an overall consistent association of education and risk of HL or NHL in this large prospective study; although, education was positively related to the incidence of BCLL and B-NHL (in women) but inversely to incidence of DLBCL. Due to limited number of cases in sub-classes and the large number of comparisons, the possibility of chance findings can not be excluded.
KW - Cohort study
KW - Education
KW - Lymphomas
KW - SES
U2 - 10.1007/s00432-009-0638-9
DO - 10.1007/s00432-009-0638-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 19582474
SN - 1432-1335
VL - 136
SP - 71
EP - 77
JO - Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
JF - Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
IS - 1
ER -