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Living Near Highway May Increase the Risk of Leukemia in Children

by Shirley Johanna on Sep 18 2015 7:17 PM

Living Near Highway May Increase the Risk of Leukemia in Children
Children living near the highway are at increased risk of a type of leukemia, says a new research.
Exposure to benzene related to car traffic might be one of the explanations for this association, the study said.

The researchers examined all 2,760 cases of childhood leukemia diagnosed in metropolitan France between 2002 and 2007, and compared them to a contemporary sample of 30,000 control children.

The results showed that the incidence of new cases of myeloblastic leukemia (418 of 2,760 cases of leukemia) was 30 percent higher in children in the population whose residence was located within 150 m of heavily used roads, and had a combined length of over 260 m within this radius.

In contrast, this association was not observed for the more common, lymphoblastic type of leukemia (2,275 cases).

"The frequency of myeloblastic type leukemias was 30 percent higher in children living within a 150 m radius of heavily used roads, and where the combined length of road sections within this radius exceeded 260 m," said one of the researchers Jacqueline Clavel from French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM).

The increased risk of myeloblastic leukemia for adults with a history of occupational exposure to benzene has long been known, the study pointed out.

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The findings were published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Source-IANS


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