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Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in childhood and incidence of cancer in adulthood in never smokers in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition

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Abstract

The association between childhood environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and adult cancer risk is controversial; we examined this relationship in never smokers within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Over an average of 10 years, 8,372 cases of cancer were diagnosed in 112,430 never smokers in EPIC. Childhood ETS was self-reported by participants at baseline, along with other lifestyle factors. Hazard ratios (HR) for ETS exposure in childhood and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by Cox proportional hazards models stratified by age, sex, and study center and adjusted for education, alcohol drinking, body mass index, physical activity, non-alcoholic energy intake, fruit and vegetable intake, and adulthood ETS exposure. Models were further adjusted for reproductive factors for female cancers, for meat intake for digestive system cancers, and for diabetes status for pancreatic cancer. No association was observed between childhood ETS exposure and overall cancer risks (HR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.92–1.02), and for selected sites. The only exception was pancreatic cancer, as previously reported by Vrieling et al., among those who had been exposed daily in childhood (overall HR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.14–3.84). In conclusion, childhood ETS exposure might not be a major risk factor for common cancers in adulthood.

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Acknowledgments

The EPIC cohort is supported by the Europe Against Cancer Program of the European Commission (SANCO). The individual centers also received funding from: Denmark: Danish Cancer Society; France: Ligue centre le Cancer, Institut Gustave Roussy, Mutuelle Générale de l’Education Nationale, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM); Italy: Italian Association for Research on Cancer and the National Research Council; The Netherlands: Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Dutch Prevention Funds, LK Research Funds, Dutch ZON (Zorg Onderzoek Nederland), and World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF); Norway: Norwegian Cancer Society; Sweden: Swedish Cancer Society, Swedish Scientific Council, and Regional Government of Skane.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Imperial College London, St Mary’s Campus, Norfolk Place, W2 1PG, London, UK

    Shu-Chun Chuang, Valentina Gallo, Dominique Michaud, Elio Riboli & Paolo Vineis

  2. Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Dominique Michaud

  3. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Kim Overvad

  4. Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Anne Tjønneland

  5. INSERM, U1018, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, Villejuif, France

    Francoise Clavel-Chapelon

  6. Paris South University, Gustave Roussy Institute, 94805, Villejuif, France

    Francoise Clavel-Chapelon

  7. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France

    Isabelle Romieu & Kurt Straif

  8. Molecular and Nutritional Epidemiology Unit, Cancer Research and Prevention Institute, ISPO, Florence, Italy

    Domenico Palli

  9. Department of Preventive and Predictive Medicine, Nutritional Epidemiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy

    Valeria Pala

  10. Ragusa Cancer Registry, Azienda Ospedaliera “Civile MP Arezzo”, Ragusa, Italy

    Rosario Tumino

  11. HuGEF Foundation and CPO-Piemonte, Turin, Italy

    Carlotta Sacerdote & Paolo Vineis

  12. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Federico II University, Naples, Italy

    Salvatore Panico

  13. Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Petra H. Peeters

  14. Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway

    Eiliv Lund & Inger Torhild Gram

  15. Department of Surgery, Skåne University Hospital Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden

    Jonas Manjer

  16. Department of Oncology, Skåne University Hospital Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Signe Borgquist

  17. MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Paolo Vineis

Authors
  1. Shu-Chun Chuang
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  2. Valentina Gallo
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  3. Dominique Michaud
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  4. Kim Overvad
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  9. Domenico Palli
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  10. Valeria Pala
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  11. Rosario Tumino
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  12. Carlotta Sacerdote
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  13. Salvatore Panico
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  14. Petra H. Peeters
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  15. Eiliv Lund
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  16. Inger Torhild Gram
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  17. Jonas Manjer
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  18. Signe Borgquist
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  19. Elio Riboli
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  20. Paolo Vineis
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Correspondence to Shu-Chun Chuang.

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Chuang, SC., Gallo, V., Michaud, D. et al. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in childhood and incidence of cancer in adulthood in never smokers in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition. Cancer Causes Control 22, 487–494 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9723-2

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