Development of a Questionnaire for the Search for Occupational Causes in Patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: The RHELYPRO Study

Abstract

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia are possibly related to environmental and/or occupational exposure. The primary objective of this study was to develop a questionnaire for screening patients with these blood disorders who might benefit from a specialized consultation for possible recognition of the disease as an occupational disease. The study included 205 subjects (male gender, 67.3%; mean age, 60 years; NHL, 78.5%). The questionnaire performed very satisfactorily in identifying the exposures most frequently retained by experts for their potential involvement in the occurrence of NHL. Its sensitivity and specificity in relation to the final expertise were 96% and 96% for trichloroethylene, 85% and 82% for benzene, 78% and 87% for solvents other than trichloroethylene and dichloromethane, 87% and 95% for pesticides, respectively. Overall, 15% of the subjects were invited to ask National Social Insurance for compensation as occupational disease. These declarations concerned exposure to pesticides (64%), solvents (trichloroethylene: 29%; benzene: 18%; other than chlorinated solvents: 18%) and sometimes multiple exposures. In conclusion, this questionnaire appears as a useful tool to identify NHL patients for a specialized consultation, in order to ask for compensation for occupational disease.

Keywords: exposure to pesticides; exposure to solvents; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; occupational disease; workers’ compensation.

Figure 1

Process for the administration and exploitation of the occupational questionnaires (see in Supplementary Materials: Questionnaire S1 for the Repérage des HEmopathies LYmphoïdes d’origine PROfessionnelle (RHELYPRO) questionnaires and Questionnaire S2 for the Occupational History Expert Questionnaire).