Parental occupational exposures of children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL): a case-control study

To evaluate the association of parental occupational exposures to six categories of occupational hazards including pesticides, solvents, paint and pigments, organic and non-organic dusts, and metals with the risk of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in their offspring. From 2007-2009 our hospital based case-control study was performed with 200 children diagnosed with ALL and 200 controls consisting of children suffering from endocrine or rheumatologic disorders, who were matched by age and sex. The study was performed at the Children’s Medical Center and Vali-Asr hospital, in Tehran, Iran. The parents were interviewed face to face to gather information on demographic characteristics, child’s medical history and home exposures, and parental occupational histories. We found that paternal exposures to non-organic dusts {OR (95% confidence interval)=2.17 (1.11-4.26); P=0.02} and metals {OR (95% confidence interval)=2.68 (1.38-5.21); P=0.004} were related to an increased risk of ALL in their offspring. No significant relations were found for the other paternal exposure categories neither for the all maternal exposures categories with the risk of ALL in their offspring. Our study provides support to the association between some paternal occupational exposures and ALL risk in their offspring. Further studies are necessary to corroborate the observed associations in this study.