Long-term exposure to air pollution at residential and workplace addresses and breast cancer risk: A case-control study nested in the French E3N-Générations cohort from 1990 to 2011

Abstract

BackgroundAn increasing evidence links air pollution to breast cancer (BC) risk. Yet, pollutant exposure estimates at the workplace location in pollution exposure assessment have not been considered. ObjectivesThis study investigates the association between particulate matters (PM2·5, PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) atmospheric concentrations (1990–2011), at the women’s residential and workplace locations, and BC risk. MethodsThis case-control study of 2419 BC cases and 2984 controls, was nested in the French prospective E3N cohort. The annual mean PM2·5, PM10 and NO2 concentrations were estimated using a Land Use Regression model (50 m x 50 m resolution) and assigned to the women’s geocoded residential and workplace locations, from cohort recruitment to their index date (date of case diagnosis). Odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using multivariate logistic regression models. ResultsAn increased BC risk was observed for a 10 µg/m3 increase of the 1990–2011 average PM2·5 concentration estimates (OR=1·28; CI 1·00, 1·63). An increased risk was suggested for a 10 µg/m3 increase for PM10 (OR=1·09; CI 0·92, 1·30) and NO2 (OR=1·05; CI 0·97, 1·13). No effect modification by menopausal status, nor difference by hormone receptor status were observed. DiscussionThis study is the first to estimate BC risk and long-term air pollutant exposure from both, residential and workplace location histories. Results suggest that residential PM2·5, PM10 and NO2 concentrations are strongly correlated with workplace ones, indicating that residential data may serve as proxy for overall exposure. Future studies should consider exposure during commuting.