Breast cancer risk by occupation and industry in women and men: Results from the Occupational Disease Surveillance System (ODSS)

Sritharan, J, MacLeod J, Dakouo M, Quadri M, McLeod C, Peter A, Demers P. Breast cancer risk by occupation and industry in women and men: Results from the Occupational Disease Surveillance System (ODSS). Am J Ind Med. 2019;62(3):205-211. doi:10.1002/ajim.22942

Background: The recently established Occupational Disease Surveillance System (ODSS) was used to examine breast cancer risk in women and men by occupation and industry.

Methods: Ontario workers in the ODSS cohort (1983-2016) were followed up for breast cancer diagnosis through the Ontario Cancer Registry. Cox-proportional hazard models were used to calculate age-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: A total of 17 865 and 492 cases were identified in working women (W) and men (M), respectively. Elevated risks were observed in management (W: HR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.40-1.70; M: HR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.44-5.39), administrative/clerical (W: HR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.11-1.21; M: HR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.06-1.99), and teaching (W: HR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.44-1.63; M: HR = 3.00, 95% CI = 1.49-6.03). Other elevated risks were observed in nursing/health, social sciences, and janitor/cleaning services for both genders.

Conclusions: Common occupational associations in both genders warrant investigation into job-related risk factors, such as sedentary behavior, shift work, ionizing radiation, and chemical exposures.