Differences in environmental exposure assignment due to residential mobility among children with a central nervous system tumor

Abstract

In epidemiologic studies of childhood cancer, environmental exposures are often assigned based on either residence at birth or diagnosis without considering the impact of residential mobility. Therefore, we evaluated residential mobility and exposure assignment differences to hazardous air pollutants between birth and diagnosis in children with a central nervous system (CNS) tumor. Children diagnosed with CNS tumors during 1995-2009 (N= 1,196) were identified from the Texas Cancer Registry. Census tract-level estimates of 1,3-butadiene and benzene were used to assign quartiles of exposure based on the maternal residence at birth and the child's residence at diagnosis. Overall, 64% of younger (0-4 years) children and 79% of older (5-14 years) children moved between birth and diagnosis. Using mixed-effects ordinal logistic regression, residence at diagnosis compared to birth did not result in a significant change in exposure assignment for younger children; however, older children were more likely to be placed in a lower 1,3-butadiene or benzene exposure quartile based on residence at diagnosis compared to birth (odds ratio (OR) = 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.45-0.76; OR= 0.57, 95% CI = 0.44-0.75, respectively). In conclusion, while the majority of children moved between birth and CNS tumor diagnosis, mobility did not significantly impact 1,3-butadiene and benzene exposure assessment in younger children.