This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Innos, K. Articles by Rahu, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Innos, K. Articles by Rahu, M. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Cancer incidence and cause-specifi c mortality in male and female physicians: a cohort study in Estonia

Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Tallinn, Estonia

Kaja Rahu

Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Tallinn, Estonia

Aleksei Baburin

Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Tallinn, Estonia

Mati Rahu

Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Tallinn, Estonia, rahum{at}ekmi.ee

Aims: To evaluate whether the presumed knowledge of physicians about healthier lifestyle decreases their risk of cancer and mortality, a retrospective cohort study of male and female physicians was conducted in Estonia. Methods: The cancer incidence and cause-specifi c mortality of 3,673 physicians (870 M, 2,803 F ) in Estonia was compared with the rates of the general population. Information on cancer cases and deaths in the cohort between 1983 and 1998 was obtained from the Estonian Cancer Registry and the mortality database of Estonia. Results: The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) for all cancers was 1.32 (95% confi dence interval (CI) 1.15-1.48) in women and 0.92 (95% CI 0.73-1.13) in men. Female physicians had an elevated risk for breast cancer (SIR 2.03, 95% CI 1.62-2.51) and myeloid leukaemia (SIR 3.69, 95% CI 1.35-8.02). Male physicians had an excess of skin melanoma (SIR 4.88, 95% CI 1.58-11.38). A large defi cit of lung cancer was observed (SIR 0.24, 95% CI 0.11-0.48). The very low all-cause mortality in the cohort (standardized mortality ratio 0.55, 95% CI 0.50-0.61) was mainly due to large defi cits in deaths from lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases and external causes. The suicide rate in the cohort was lower than in the general population. Conclusions: No health risks were observed in the cohort that could be linked to the occupational exposures of physicians. The pattern of cancer incidence and mortality seen in physicians in Estonia is similar to the pattern seen among professional classes in other countries.

Key Words: cohort studies • mortality • neoplasms • physicians • smoking • social class.

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 30, No. 2, 133-140 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/14034948020300020701


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?