Paternal Age Equal of Greater than 35 years found associated with a 49% higher risk of ALL

Br J Cancer. 2002 Feb 1;86(3):356-61. Links
Association of early life factors and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in childhood: historical cohort study.Murray L, McCarron P, Bailie K, Middleton R, Davey Smith G, Dempsey S, McCarthy A, Gavin A.
Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, The Queens University, Belfast, Riddel Hall, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5EE, UK. l.murray@qub.ac.uk
In a historical cohort study of all singleton live births in Northern Ireland from 1971-86 (n=434,933) associations between early life factors and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia were investigated. Multivariable analyses showed a positive association between high paternal age (> or =35 years) and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (relative risk=1.49; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.96--2.31) but no association with maternal age. High birth weight (> or =3500 g) was positively associated with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (relative risk=1.66; 95% CI=1.18--2.33). Children of mothers with a previous miscarriage or increased gestation (> or =40 weeks) had reduced risks of ALL (respective relative risks=0.49; 95% CI=0.29--0.80, and 0.67; 95% CI=0.48--0.94). Children born into more crowded households (> or =1 person per room) had substantially lower risks than children born into less crowded homes with also some evidence of a lower risk for children born into homes with three adults (relative risks=0.56; 95% CI=0.35-0.91 and 0.58; 95% CI=0.21-1.61 respectively). These findings indicate that several early life factors, including living conditions in childhood and maternal miscarriage history, influence risk of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in childhood. Copyright 2002 The Cancer Research Campaign

PMID: 11875699 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]