Hospital workers at 65% higher risk of thyroid cancer
- Hospital staff are frequently exposed to sanitisers, disinfectants and sterilisers
- Yale University research has discovered a link between these and thyroid cancer
- The odds more than double for those with the most dealings with the chemicals
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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Hospital workers are more likely to develop thyroid cancer, new research suggests.
Being exposed to sanitisers, disinfectants and sterilisers at work was linked to a 65 per cent higher risk of the disease.
The odds more than doubled for those who jobs may have led to frequent dealings with the toxins, which are also known as biocides.
Scientists at Yale University also looked at pesticides – for which research is inconclusive – but found no increased risk.
Workers exposed to sanitisers, disinfectants and sterilisers have a 65 per cent higher risk of the disease, scientists claim
Study author Dr Yawei Zhang said: ‘Limited studies have investigated occupational exposure to pesticides in relation to thyroid cancer and have reached inconsistent results.
‘Our study did not support an association between occupational exposure to pesticides and risk of thyroid cancer.
‘But… occupational exposure to other biocides might be associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer.
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‘People should take caution when they apply pesticides or other biocides in work place or at home by wearing protective clothes or mask and washing hands afterwards.’
Scientists aren’t certain what causes thyroid cancer, though radiation has been heavily linked in recent years.
Women are deemed more likely to get the disease, with white people also considered to be at the highest risk.
The odds of thyroid cancer more than doubled for those who jobs may have led to frequent dealings with the toxins, which are also known as biocides (stock)
WHAT IS THYROID CANCER?
Thyroid cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects the thyroid gland, a small gland at the base of the neck that produces hormones.
It’s most common in people in their 30s and those over the age of 60. Women are two to three times more likely to develop it than men.
Thyroid cancer is usually treatable and in many cases can be cured completely, although it can sometimes come back after treatment.
Symptoms of thyroid cancer can include:
- a painless lump or swelling in the front of the neck – although only 1 in 20 neck lumps are cancer
- swollen glands in the neck
- unexplained hoarseness that doesn’t get better after a few weeks
- a sore throat that doesn’t get better
- difficulty swallowing
Source: NHS Choices
Women with any occupational exposure to biocides were 48 percent more likely to develop thyroid cancer, while men had more than tripled odds
For the study, researchers compared data on 462 adults with thyroid cancer to 498 people of a similar age who didn’t have the disease.
Participants were asked to report all the jobs they had held for at least one year during their lifetime.
They were also asked to provide detailed information on their job title, duties and type of industry.
Then, their potential exposure to biocides and pesticides were estimated by the researchers.
Pesticides included primarily agricultural chemicals like insecticides, herbicides and rodenticides, linked mainly to farming jobs.
Biocides in the study, which was published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, were typically used in medicine or cleaning.
This comes after the UN warned in August of new technologies being behind an epidemic of thyroid cancer in western countries.
Its cancer research agency said hundreds of thousands of patients are being misdiagnosed, and that their tumours are ‘very unlikely’ to cause death.
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