AGRICULTURE

The Upper Midwest Health Study – A case-control study of primary intracranial glioma in rural residents

Background

Brain cancer is nearly uniformly fatal but the etiology of this disease remains largely unknown. Incidence and mortality rose significantly from the mid-70s through the 80s and then declined somewhat. However, among the elderly, rates increased most rapidly and did not then decline (SEER Cancer Fact Sheets, Cancer of the Brain and Other Nervous System 2007).

Farmers are generally at lower risk for cancer overall. However, farmers have consistently been found to be at increased risk for brain cancer; the reason for the observed increase is unclear.

In 1991 the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health received a Congressional mandate to study occupational health and safety in the agricultural sector. A group in the Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies focused on cancer in farmers and decided to investigate possible explanations for the excess of brain cancer in farmers. Because brain cancer incidence was elevated in the Upper Midwest, and because these states have substantial farm populations, the study concentrated on Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Collaborators in each state were recruited for field work. A protocol was approved in 1994 and contracts with the collaborators began that year.

Purpose

To evaluate whether farm exposures explain increased risk of brain cancer among farmers.

To ascertain whether evaluated nonfarm occupational exposures are associated with increased risk of brain cancer among participants in our case-control study.

To identify genetic susceptibility factors associated with increased risk of brain cancer in participants in our case-control study.

Publications to Date

Statistical modeling of occupational chlorinated solvent exposures for case-control studies using a literature-based database
Hein MJ, Waters MA, Ruder AM, Stenzel MR, Blair A, Stewart PA.  Ann Occup Hyg 2010; 54(4): 459-72.

Genetic epidemiology of glioblastoma multiforme: confirmatory and new findings from analyses of human leukocyte antigen alleles and motifs
Song WS, Ruder A, Hu L, Li Y, Ni R, Shao W, Kaslow RA, Butler MA, Tang J.  PloS One 2009; 4 (9), e7157.

The Upper Midwest Health Study: Gliomas and   farm crops, livestock, and tasks
Ruder AM, Carreón T, Butler MA, Calvert GM,  Davis-King KE, Waters MA, Schulte PA, Mandel JA, Morton RF, Reding DJ, Rosenman KD, Brain Cancer   Collaborative Study Group.   Am J Epidemiol; 2009; 169 (12): 1479-1491.

Common variation in genes related to innate immunity and risk of adult glioma
Rajaraman P, Brenner A, Butler M, Wang S, Pfeiffer R, Ruder A, Linet M, Yeager M, Wang Z, Orr N, Fine H, Kwon D, Thomas G, Rothman N, Inskip P, Chanock S.  Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 18 (5): 1651-1658.

NIOSH Retrospective Pesticide Reference Database
A. M. Ruder, M. A. Butler, W. T. Sanderson, T. Carreón, M. A. Waters, Z. E. Zivkovich
Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health. 15(2): 143-156. @2009
NIOSH case-control study of glioma among non-metropolitan residents. Responses to open-ended questions about pesticide exposures had to be grouped for analysis. Our aim was to classify pesticide responses in biologically relevant categories. We built the NIOSH Retrospective Pesticide Reference Database (NIOSH-RPRD) on over 1000 pesticide products and chemicals, particularly those likely to be used in the upper Midwest, using multiple sources.

View the NIOSH Retrospective Pesticide Reference Database in Excel Format

Associations between polymorphisms in DNA repair genes and glioblastoma
R. McKean-Cowdin, J. Barnholtz-Sloan, P.D. Inskip, A. M. Ruder, M. Butler, P. Rajaraman, P. Razavi, J. Patoka, J. K. Wiencke, M. L. Bondy, M. Wrensch.  Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 2009 April; 18(4): 1118-1126.

Issues when modeling benzene, toluene, and xylene exposures using a literature database
M. J. Hein, M. A. Waters, E. van Wijngaarden, J. A. Deddens, P. A. Stewart. Issues when modeling benzene, toluene, and xylene exposures using a literature database. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 2008 Jan; 5(1)36-47.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in selected cytokine genes and risk of adult glioma
A. V. Brenner, M. A. Butler, S. S. Wang, A. M. Ruder, N. Rothman, P. A. Schulte, S. J. Chanock, H. A. Fine, M. S. Linet, P. D. Inskip. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in selected cytokine genes and risk of adult glioma. Carcinogenesis 2007 Oct; 28(10):2543-2547.

The Upper Midwest Health Study: a case-control study of primary intracranial gliomas in farm and rural residents
A. M. Ruder, M. A.Waters, T. Carreón, M. A. Butler, K. E. Davis-King, G. M. Calvert , P. A. Schulte, E. M. Ward, L. B. Connally, J. Lu, D. Wall, Z. Zivkovich, E. F. Heineman, J. S. Mandel, R. F. Morton, D. J. Reding, K. D. Rosenman, and the Brain Cancer Collaborative Study Group. The Upper Midwest Health Study, a Case-Control Study of Primary Intracranial Gliomas in Farm and Rural Residents. Journal of Agriculture Safety and Health 2006; 12: 255-274.

Gliomas and farm pesticide exposure in women: the Upper Midwest Health Study
Carreón T, Butler MA, Ruder AM, Waters MA, Davis-King KE, Calvert GM, Schulte PA, Sanderson WT, Ward EM, Connally LB, Heineman EF, Mandel JS, Morton RF, Reding DJ, Rosenman KD, Talaska G, Brain Cancer Collaborative Study Group. Gliomas and farm pesticide exposure in women. Environmental Health Perspectives 2005; 113 (5): 546-551.

Gliomas and farm pesticide exposure in men: the Upper Midwest Health Study
Ruder AM, Waters MA, Butler MA, Carreón T, Calvert GM, Davis-King KE, Schulte PA, Sanderson WT, Ward EM, Connally LB, Heineman EF, Mandel JS, Morton RF, Reding DJ, Rosenman KD, Talaska G, Brain Cancer Collaborative Study Group. Gliomas and farm pesticide exposure in men. Archives of Environmental Health 2004; 59: 650-657.

Reproductive factors and risk of glioma in women
Huang K, Whelan EA, Ruder AM, Deddens J, Davis-King KE, Carreón T, Waters MA, Butler MA, Calvert GM, Schulte P, Zivkovich Z, Heineman E, Mandel J, Morton R, Reding D, Rosenman K, Brain Cancer Collaborative Study Group. Reproductive factors and risk of glioma in women. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention 2004; 13: 1583-1588.

Pesticide prioritization for a brain cancer case-control study
Sanderson WT, Talaska G, Zaebst D, Davis-King K, Calvert G. Pesticide prioritization for a brain cancer case-control study. Environmental Research 1997; 74: 133-44.

More Information/Collaborations

Those interested in more details of Upper Midwest Health Study publications and investigators interested in collaborations with NIOSH utilizing Upper Midwest Health Study data should contact the project officer:

Avima Ruder, Ph.D.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Mailstop R‑16
4676 Columbia Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45226 USA

(513) 841‑4440 (voice)
(513) 841‑4486 (fax)