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PURPOSE: Outdoor light at night (LAN) can result in circadian disruption and hormone dysregulation and is a suspected risk factor for some cancers. Our study is the first to evaluate the association between LAN and risk of endometrial cancer, a malignancy with known relationship to circulating estrogen levels. METHODS: We linked enrollment addresses (1996) for 97,677 postmenopausal women in the prospective NIH-AARP cohort to satellite imagery of nighttime radiance to estimate LAN exposure. Multivariable Cox models estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for LAN quintiles and incident endometrial cancer overall (1,669 cases) and endometrioid adenocarcinomas (991 cases) through follow-up (2011). We tested for interaction with established endometrial cancer risk factors. RESULTS: We observed no association for endometrial cancer overall (HRQ1vsQ5 0.92; 95% CI 0.78-1.08; p trend = 0.67) or endometrioid adenocarcinoma (HRQ1vsQ5 1.01; 95% CI 0.82-1.24; p trend = 0.36). Although body mass index and menopause hormone therapy were both associated with risk, there was no evidence of interaction with LAN (p interactions = 0.52 and 0.50, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study did not find an association between outdoor LAN and endometrial cancer risk, but was limited by the inability to account for individual-level exposure determinants. Future studies should consider approaches to improve characterization of personal exposures to light.

Background Industrial facilities are not located uniformly across communities in the United States, but how the burden of exposure to carcinogenic air emissions may vary across population characteristics is unclear. We evaluated differences in carcinogenic industrial pollution among major sociodemographic groups in the United States and Puerto Rico. Methods We evaluated cross-sectional associations of population characteristics including race and ethnicity, educational attainment, and poverty at the census tract level with point-source industrial emissions of 21 known human carcinogens using regulatory data from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals comparing the highest emissions (tertile or quintile) to the referent group (zero emissions [ie, nonexposed]) for all sociodemographic characteristics were estimated using multinomial, population density–adjusted logistic regression models. Results In 2018, approximately 7.4 million people lived in census tracts with nearly 12 million pounds of carcinogenic air releases. The odds of tracts having the greatest burden of benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, and nickel emissions compared with nonexposed were 10%-20% higher for African American populations, whereas White populations were up to 18% less likely to live in tracts with the highest emissions. Among Hispanic and Latino populations, odds were 16%-21% higher for benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and ethylene oxide. Populations experiencing poverty or with less than high school education were associated with up to 51% higher burden, irrespective of race and ethnicity. Conclusions Carcinogenic industrial emissions disproportionately impact African American and Hispanic and Latino populations and people with limited education or experiencing poverty thus representing a source of pollution that may contribute to observed cancer disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although occupational exposure to animals has been associated with lymphohematopoietic malignancies, to our knowledge no studies have evaluated adult cancer risks associated with living near intensive animal agriculture.Methods: We linked participants in the prospective Agricultural Health Study to permitted animal feeding operations in Iowa. We created metrics reflecting the intensity of animal exposures within 2 and 5 km of participants' residences, enumerating both total and inverse distance-weighted animal units (AUs), standardized by animal size and manure production. We estimated risk of lymphohematopoietic malignancies and subtypes [hazard ratio (HR), 95% confidence interval (95% CI)], adjusting for demographic and farming-related factors, including occupational pesticide exposure. We stratified associations by animal type and animal-related work activities.Results: We observed 519 cases (1993-2015) among 32,635 pesticide applicators and 211 cases among 19,743 spouses. Among applicators, no associations were evident within 2 km, but risk of any lymphohematopoietic cancer was elevated across quintiles of weighted AUs within 5 km. Risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was elevated for the second (HR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1, 2.1), third (HR = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1, 2.2), and fourth (HR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.3, 2.4) highest quintiles of weighted AUs within 5 km (Ptrend = 0.52) and increased with dairy cattle AUs (Ptrend = 0.04). We found positive trends for leukemia and some NHL subtypes with increasing numbers of both beef and dairy cattle. Risks did not vary by animal-related work (Pinteraction = 0.61). Associations were similar using the total exposure metric and inconsistent among spouses.Conclusion: Residential proximity to intensive animal agriculture was positively associated with risk of NHL and leukemia, even after consideration of occupational animal and pesticide exposures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercial databases can be used to identify participant addresses over time, but their quality and impact on environmental exposure assessment is uncertain. To evaluate the performance of a commercial database to find residences and estimate environmental exposures for study participants. We searched LexisNexis® for participant addresses in the Los Angeles Ultrafines Study, a prospective cohort of men and women aged 50–71 years. At enrollment (1995–1996) and follow-up (2004–2005), we evaluated attainment (address found for the corresponding time period) and match rates to survey addresses by participant characteristics. We compared geographically-referenced predictors and estimates of ultrafine particulate matter (UFP) exposure from a land use regression model using LexisNexis and survey addresses at enrollment. LexisNexis identified an address for 69% of participants at enrollment (N = 50,320) and 95% of participants at follow-up (N = 24,432). Attainment rate at enrollment modestly differed (≥5%) by age, smoking status, education, and residential mobility between surveys. The match rate at both survey periods was high (82–86%) and similar across characteristics. When using LexisNexis versus survey addresses, correlations were high for continuous values of UFP exposure and its predictors (rho = 0.86–0.92). Time period and population characteristics influenced the attainment of addresses from a commercial database, but accuracy and subsequent estimation of specific air pollution exposures were high in our older study population. • Residential addresses were found for most participants in a commercial database search. • Information was validated for ≥80% of participants compared to self-reported addresses. • Misclassification of air pollution exposures was <15% when relying on commercial addresses. • A commercial database returned residential histories for participants that could improve future epidemiologic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]