Artículos científicos

URI permanente para esta colecciónhttp://10.0.96.45:4000/handle/11056/14755

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Cancer in Banana Plantation Workers in Costa Rica
(Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica, 1996) WESSELING, CATHARINA; Ahlbom, Anders; Antich, Daniel; Rodríguez, Ana Cecilia; Castro, Roberto
Background. Costa Rica has population and disease registries with potential value for epidemiological research. Pesticides have been intensively used on banana plantations, for example dibromochloropropane (DBCP). This study was planned to examine the quality of the cancer and civil registries and the feasibility of record linkages, and to explore cancer patterns among a highly exposed group. Methods. A retrospective cohort study was carried out. Workers on the payrolls of banana companies, as reported to the Social Security System at any time between 1972 and 1979, were followed up in the cancer registry between 1981 and 1992: 29,565 men and 4892 women for 407,468 person-years. The observed cases of cancer were compared to the expected values, derived from the national incidence rates. Results. We identified 368 cancer cases, 292 among men (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] = 76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 67-84) and 76 among women (SIR = 116, 95% CI: 90-142). Among men increased SIR were observed for melanoma (SIR = 197, 95% CI: 94-362) and penile cancer (SIR = 149, 95% CI: 55-324); among women for cervix cancer (SIR = 182, 95% CI: 122-241) and leukaemia (SIR = 274, 95% CI: 86-639). Risk estimates for lung cancer were elevated among male workers with the longest time of employment. Conclusions. Follow-up was difficult due to deficient identification variables in the cancer registry and to easier identification of the living compared to the deceased in the civil registry at the end of the observation period. The various systematic errors in this study are likely to produce an underestimation of the relative risk estimates. This study contributes to improvements of the registries and increases the potential for cancer epidemiology in Costa Rica and other developing countries.
Central nervous system tumours in children in Costa Rica: 1981–96
(Blackwell Science, 2002) Reutfors, Johan; Kramárová, Eva; Weiderpass, Elisabete; Monge, Patricia; Wesseling, Catharina; Ahlbom, Anders
Incidence rates of malignant central nervous system (CNS) tumours in children in Costa Rica are presented in an international perspective. For the 16-year period 1981–96, a total of 256 CNS tumours were registered in children below age 15 years by the National Tumour Registry of Costa Rica. The age-standardised incidence rate was 15.2 per million person–years, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.4. The median age-standardised incidence rates of selected registries in other Latin American countries were 19.3, in other developing countries 12.0 and in industrialised countries 29.6 per million person–years. The comparatively low incidence rates in Costa Rica were evident in all diagnostic subgroups, most notably in the youngest age group and for tumours in the brain stem. In the Central Valley, where the capital and the only specialised paediatric hospital are situated, the crude incidence rate was 18.1 [95% CI 15.1, 21.1] compared with 10.5 [95% CI 8.3, 12.8] per million person–years in the rest of the country (RR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.3, 2.3). There was no evidence of any increase over time. The data in this study cannot exclude under-diagnosis and, to a lesser degree, under-registration as a partial explanation of the low incidence rates of malignant CNS tumours in children in Costa Rica.

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Examinando Artículos científicos por Autor "Ahlbom, Anders"