Occupational risk factors for selected cancers among African American and White men in the United States

Objectives. This study examined occupational risks for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and soft-tissue sarcoma among African American and White men. Methods. Race-specific multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted using data from a large US population-based case–control study. Results. Significant occupational risks were limited to African Americans; chromium was associated with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (odds ratio [OR] = 3.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2, 12.9) and wood dust was associated with Hodgkin’s disease (OR = 4.6, 95% CI = 1.6, 13.3) and soft-tissue sarcoma (OR = 3.7, 95% CI = 1.6, 8.6). Conclusions. Race-specific occupational risk factors for cancer were evident only among African American men. This may reflect racial disparities in levels of exposure to occupational carcinogens.