Cancer in Illinois construction workers: A study

Abstract

A series of case-control studies using subjects from the Illinois State Cancer Registry have been conducted. Logistic regression was used to control for age and history of tobacco and alcohol use. Construction workers were consistently found to be younger than other subjects and to have used alcohol and tobacco more often. Significant positive associations between cancer of the stomach and welding (odds ratio [OR] = 2.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09, 4.09), lung cancer and employment in the construction industry (OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.02, 1.26), and lung cancer and welding (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.03, 2.76) were found. Significant negative associations between cancer of the colon and welding (OR = .54, 95% CI = .29, 1.00), cancer of the prostate and employment in the construction industry (OR = .76, 95% CI = .65, .89), cancer of the prostate and plumbing (OR = .44, 95% CI = .38, .50), cancer of the prostate and metal working (OR = .43, 95% CI = .19, .93), and bladder cancer and employment as an electrician (OR = .60, 95% CI = .36, 1.00) suggests that construction workers did not consistently experience excesses of cancers known to be associated with tobacco use, and an overall excess of sites not known to be related to tobacco use may have occurred.