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AGRICULTURAL HEALTH STUDY
Description:
The Agricultural Health Study is a large cohort of 90,000 licensed pesticide applicators, plus 30,000 spouses and 20,000 children who are exposed either directly or indirectly. Exposure to pesticides is widespread and is important beyond the agricultural community. Other exposures in this cohort with public health importance include nitrates, metals, mycotoxins, solvents, and silica. While this study was initiated by the NCI to study the risk of specific cancers in pesticide applicators (who are largely male), the study affords the opportunity explore a number of health effects, including cancers that occur in the female spouses of applicators. The NIEHS is taking the lead in studies of non-cancer health effects in the cohort and is collaborating with the NCI on the cancer studies. Breast cancer will be of particular concern because of current interest in the possible link between organochlorine pesticides and breast cancer.
