Occupational prestige trajectory and the risk of lung and head and neck cancer among men and women in France.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at investigating the associations between occupational prestige trajectories and lung and head and neck (HN) cancer risk and to assess to what extent smoking, alcohol drinking, and occupational exposures contribute to these associations. METHODS: Using data from the ICARE case-control study (controls (2676 men/715 women), lung cancers (2019 men/558 women), HN cancers (1793 men/305 women), we defined occupational prestige trajectories using group-based modeling of longitudinal data. We conducted logistic regression models. RESULTS: Among men, a gradient was observed from the downward "low to very low" trajectory to the stable very high trajectory. The associations were reduced when adjusting for tobacco and alcohol consumption and occupational exposures. Among women, when compared to the stable high trajectory, there was an increased cancer risk in all trajectories. The associations remained globally unchanged or even increased after adjustment for tobacco and alcohol consumption and did not change when adjusting for occupational exposures. The ORs were smaller for lung than for HN cancers in men. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational prestige trajectory is strongly associated with lung and HN cancer risk in men and women.