Dataset Information

Season of birth and risk of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

ABSTRACT: Infectious etiologies have been hypothesized for Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (HL and NHL) in early life, but findings to date for specific lymphomas and periods of susceptibility are conflicting. We conducted the first national cohort study to examine whether season of birth, a proxy for infectious exposures in the first few months of life, is associated with HL or NHL in childhood through young adulthood. A total of 3,571,574 persons born in Sweden in 1973-2008 were followed up through 2009 to examine the association between season of birth and incidence of HL (943 cases) or NHL (936 cases). We found a sinusoidal pattern in NHL risk by season of birth (p?=?0.04), with peak risk occurring among birthdates in April. Relative to persons born in fall (September-November), odds ratios for NHL by season of birth were 1.25 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-1.50; p?=?0.02] for spring (March-May), 1.22 (95% CI, 1.01-1.48; p?=?0.04) for summer (June-August) and 1.11 (95% CI, 0.91-1.35; p?=?0.29) for winter (December-February). These findings did not vary by sex, age at diagnosis or major subtypes. In contrast, there was no seasonal association between birthdate and risk of HL (p?=?0.78). In this large cohort study, birth in spring or summer was associated with increased risk of NHL (but not HL) in childhood through young adulthood, possibly related to immunologic effects of delayed infectious exposures compared with fall or winter birth. These findings suggest that immunologic responses in early infancy may play an important role in the development of NHL.

SUBMITTER: Crump C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4165654 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Season of birth and risk of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Crump Casey C Sundquist Jan J Sieh Weiva W Winkleby Marilyn A MA Sundquist Kristina K

International journal of cancer 20140425 11

Infectious etiologies have been hypothesized for Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (HL and NHL) in early life, but findings to date for specific lymphomas and periods of susceptibility are conflicting. We conducted the first national cohort study to examine whether season of birth, a proxy for infectious exposures in the first few months of life, is associated with HL or NHL in childhood through young adulthood. A total of 3,571,574 persons born in Sweden in 1973-2008 were followed up through 200 ...[more]

PMID: 24752499

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundNon-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) comprises biologically and clinically heterogeneous subtypes. Previously, study size has limited the ability to compare and contrast the risk factor profiles among these heterogeneous subtypes.MethodsWe pooled individual-level data from 17 471 NHL cases and 23 096 controls in 20 case-control studies from the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium (InterLymph). We estimated the associations, measured as odds ratios, between each of 11 NHL subtypes and self-reported medical history, family history of hematologic malignancy, lifestyle factors, and occupation. We then assessed the heterogeneity of associations by evaluating the variability (Q value) of the estimated odds ratios for a given exposure among subtypes. Finally, we organized the subtypes into a hierarchical tree to identify groups that had similar risk factor profiles. Statistical significance of tree partitions was estimated by permutation-based P values (P NODE).ResultsRisks differed statistically significantly among NHL subtypes for medical history factors (autoimmune diseases, hepatitis C virus seropositivity, eczema, and blood transfusion), family history of leukemia and multiple myeloma, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and certain occupations, whereas generally homogeneous risks among subtypes were observed for family history of NHL, recreational sun exposure, hay fever, allergy, and socioeconomic status. Overall, the greatest difference in risk factors occurred between T-cell and B-cell lymphomas (P NODE < 1.0×10(-4)), with increased risks generally restricted to T-cell lymphomas for eczema, T-cell-activating autoimmune diseases, family history of multiple myeloma, and occupation as a painter. We further observed substantial heterogeneity among B-cell lymphomas (P NODE < 1.0×10(-4)). Increased risks for B-cell-activating autoimmune disease and hepatitis C virus seropositivity and decreased risks for alcohol consumption and occupation as a teacher generally were restricted to marginal zone lymphoma, Burkitt/Burkitt-like lymphoma/leukemia, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and/or lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma/Waldenström macroglobulinemia.ConclusionsUsing a novel approach to investigate etiologic heterogeneity among NHL subtypes, we identified risk factors that were common among subtypes as well as risk factors that appeared to be distinct among individual or a few subtypes, suggesting both subtype-specific and shared underlying mechanisms. Further research is needed to test putative mechanisms, investigate other risk factors (eg, other infections, environmental exposures, and diet), and evaluate potential joint effects with genetic susceptibility.

Dataset Information

Season of birth and risk of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Publications

Season of birth and risk of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure