Parental occupational exposures in wood-related jobs and risk of testicular germ cell tumours in offspring in NORD-TEST a registry-based case-control study in Finland, Norway, and Sweden

Abstract

Objective: We assessed the association between parental prenatal exposures in wood-related jobs and risk of testicular germ cell tumours (TGCT) in offspring.

Methods: NORD-TEST, a registry-based case-control study in Sweden, Finland and Norway, included 8112 TGCT cases diagnosed at ages 14-49 years between 1978 and 2012 with no history of prior cancer, and up to four controls matched to each case on year and country of birth. Parents of cases and controls were identified via linkages with the population registries and their occupational information was retrieved from censuses. The Nordic Occupational Cancer Study Job-Exposure Matrix was used to assign occupational exposures to each parent. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results: Maternal wood-related job was not associated with the risk of TGCT in offspring (OR 1.08, CI 0.55-2.14), while paternal wood-related job was associated with a decreased risk of TGCT in offspring (OR 0.85, CI 0.75-0.96). None of the specific wood-related jobs, such as upholsterers, sawyers, or construction carpenters, were significantly associated with a risk of TGCT. Only exception was observed in a sensitivity analysis which showed an increased risk in the small group of sons of fathers working as 'cabinetmakers and joiners' the year before conception (OR of 2.06, CI 1.00-4.25).

Conclusion: This large-scale NORD-TEST analysis provided no evidence of an association between parental prenatal exposures in wood-related jobs and TGCT in sons.

Keywords: Nordic countries; Occupational exposure; Prenatal exposure delayed effects; Testicular germ cell tumours; Testicular neoplasms; Wood-related jobs.