Childhood cancer and pesticide use in the home, garden, and yard

This study assesses consumer exposure to pesticides and uses a case-control methodology to examine the relationship of pesticide exposure to childhood brain cancer and acute lymphocytic leukemia. Exposure variables include consumer use of pesticides to control household nuisance pests, termites, lice, fleas, ticks, garden pests, and yard weeds. Other components of the study assess consumer pesticide use precautions and examine the relationship between childhood cancer and potential pesticide exposure via commercial fruit products.;The study found extensive use of pesticides by consumers and several significant odds ratios for childhood brain cancer. Key findings of the study included significant positive associations between childhood brain cancer and use of pesticides to control nuisance pests (i.e., roaches, ants, spiders, and mosquitoes) in the home (OR = 2.8; 95% CI = 1.0-7.9), pesticide bombs in the home (OR = 4.5; 95% CI = 1.1-19.1), No-Pest-Strips in the home (OR = 5.2; 95% CI = 1.2-22.2), pesticides to control termites (OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 1.3-7.1), Kwell (OR = 4.7; 95% CI = 1.0-22.0), flea collars on pets (OR = 4.4; 95% CI = 1.3-15.4), pesticides in the garden or orchard (OR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.1-5.3), carbaryl in the garden or orchard (OR = 2.8; 95% CI = 1.3-5.8), diazinon in the garden or orchard (OR = 4.6; 95% CI = 1.2-17.9), herbicides to control weeds in the yard (OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 1.2-7.3), and other related variables. Childhood brain cancer odds ratios for numerous other pesticide use variables were elevated, but insignificant.;Index child mother use of insecticides in the garden or orchard was the only pesticide use variable significantly associated with childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia. Several other pesticide use variables showed elevated, but insignificant associations with childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia.;Results from this study showed that commercial fruit product consumption was not significantly related to childhood brain cancer or acute lymphocytic leukemia. The only substantial, yet insignificant odds ratios for childhood cancer were for child consumption of apples (OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 0.5-8.3), apple sauce (OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 0.8-5.0), apple juice (OR = 1.9; 95% Ci = 0.5-7.4), and bananas (OR = 6.3; 95% CI = 0.5-82.8).