Case-control study of bladder cancer in New Jersey. I. Occupational exposures in white males.

The occupational bladder cancer risk for New Jersey white males was estimated with the use of both industry-job title-based and exposure-based analyses of data from 658 incident cases and 1,258 general population controls. The overall bladder cancer risk attributable to occupational exposures was estimated as 20-22%. A wide variety of employment categories and exposures contributed to this risk. Odds ratios were significantly high for employment as garage and gas station workers and food counter workers and/or cooks and for exposure to leather, rubber, paint, printing ink, and other organic compounds. Odds ratios for textile mill workers, chemical workers, and metal workers for the a priori high-risk employment category and odds ratios for those exposed to dyes, chlorinated compounds, and rubber showed significant differences between younger and older subjects. Bladder cancer risk associated with occupational exposures was not limited to persons with initial exposures before 25 years of age. However, there was significantly decreasing risk for bladder cancer with increasing age at first exposure for chemical workers and metal workers and for the a priori high-risk materials and metals. Drivers and/or deliverymen and miscellaneous laborers had significantly increasing bladder cancer risk with increasing duration of employment.