Occupational Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer Mortality in British Columbia, Canada

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Abstract
Background Although prostate cancer is the most common life‐threatening cancer among males in North America, relatively little is known about its etiology. We have conducted a proportional mortality study to generate hypotheses concerning occupational risk factors for the disease. Methods Age standardized proportional mortality ratios (PMR) for prostate cancer were calculated for a total of 216 occupations and 88 industries. Separate calculations were done for all male deaths age 20 and up and for deaths that occurred during men's working lifetime (age 20–65). Results Elevated mortality from prostate cancer was seen among business owners and managers (PMR = 110; 95%CI = 101–118), brokers (PMR = 184; 95%CI = 122–266), farmers and farm managers (PMR = 112; 95%CI = 105–120), and school teachers (PMR = 133; 95%CI = 101–174). Evaluation by industry shows elevated prostate cancer mortality in agriculture (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 number of occupations have elevated risks of prostate cancer including farmers and teachers. More detailed cohort and case‐control studies, evaluating specific exposures are required before primary prevention programs in the workplace are feasible. Am. J. Ind. Med. 35:82–86, 1999.

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