AGRICOH represents a formidable platform for studying a variety of health outcomes, including but not restricted to cancer; respiratory, neurologic, and auto-immune diseases; reproductive outcomes; allergic disorders; injuries; and overall mortality in association with a wide array of agricultural exposures in the participating cohort studies. To strengthen research in under-studied settings the consortium strives to identify new participating agricultural cohorts in low- and middle-income countries.
AGRICOH consists of representatives of individual cohort studies and from institutions having special assigned roles such as in coordination or exposure harmonisation. AGRICOH is open to researchers interested in investigating health outcomes in association with exposures present during farming and in the agricultural environment, through AGRICOH members. The consortium is coordinated by a steering group that runs for a term of five years (currently 2016-2020).
NEWS
Published article on Professional Pesticide Use and the Risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
On March 18, 2019, the first AGRICOH paper on cancer risk was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. Pooling the "Agriculture and cancer (AGRICAN)" study from France, the "Cancer in the Norwegian Agricultural Population (CNAP)" study from Norway and the "Agricultural Health Study (AHS)" from the US, totalling more than 300,000 farmers, the possible association between professional exposure to any of 14 selected pesticide chemical groups or 33 individual active ingredients and the risk of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) or its major subtypes was investigated. The vast majority of combinations between pesticide exposures and NHL or its subtypes did not show an association. Exceptions were moderate associations between NHL and ever use of terbufos; chronic lymphocytic leukaemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma and deltamethrin; and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and glyphosate; as well as inverse associations of NHL with the broader groups of organochlorine insecticides and phenoxy herbicides, after adjusting for exposure to other pesticides. The article is accessible through open access at Pubmed
Leon ME, Schinasi LH, Lebailly P, Beane Freeman L, Nordby KC, Ferro G, et al. Pesticide use and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoid malignancies in agricultural cohorts from
France, Norway and the USA: a pooled analysis from the AGRICOH consortium. Int J Epidemiol 2019 (March 18)
AGRICOH Subgroup Cancer Meeting November 2017
On 27th and 28th November AGRICOH members of the Subgroup on Cancer who are actively involved in the combined analyses of three AGRICOH cohorts from France (AGRICAN), Norway (CNAP), and the USA (AHS), met in Utrecht, The Netherlands, hosted by the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS) of the University of Utrecht.
The meeting was to finalize analyses of pooling projects on the risk of haematological malignancies in relation to exposure to pesticides and in relation to animal farming. Progress was discussed on further ongoing pooling projects on the use of pesticides in relation to the risk of breast cancer and in relation to the risk of prostate cancer.
Published article on exposure assessment
In the first pooling project within the AGRICOH consortium, Crop-exposure matrices were developed for an assessment of occupational exposure to pesticide active ingredients and chemical groups. An article describing the methodology has been published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Brouwer M, Schinasi L, Beane Freeman LE, Baldi I, Lebailly P, Ferro G, Nordby KC, Schüz J, Leon ME, Kromhout H. Assessment of occupational exposure to pesticides in a pooled analysis of agricultural cohorts within the AGRICOH consortium. Occup Environ Med. 2016 Jun;73(6):359-67. doi:10.1136/oemed-2015-103319. Pubmed
Concerns have been published regarding the article titled "Re: Assessment of occupational exposure to pesticides in a pooled analysis of agricultural cohorts within the AGRICOH consortium." Pubmed A letter to the Editor from the AGRICOH consortium addressing those concerns has also been published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Brouwer M, Schinasi L, Beane Freeman LE, Baldi I, Lebailly P, Ferro G, Nordby KC, Schüz J, Leon ME, Kromhout H. Assessment of occupational exposure to pesticides in a pooled analysis of agricultural cohorts within the AGRICOH consortium: authors' response. Occup Environ Med. 2017 Jan;74(1):81. doi:10.1136/oemed-2016-104110. Pubmed
New AGRICOH Steering Group elected for the term 2016-2020
In December 2015 the new Steering Group was elected for the term from January 2016 to December 2020. The Steering Group discusses general matters of the consortium at bi-monthly conference calls. The composition of the Steering Group is Drs Joachim Schüz (Chair), Isabelle Baldi (Subgroup lead “Neurological”), Laura Beane Freeman (Subgroup lead “Cancer”), Jeroen Douwes, Jane Hoppin (Subgroup lead “Reproductive”), Kristina Kjærheim, Hans Kromhout (Subgroup lead “Exposure”), Pierre Lebailly, Paul Romitti (Subgroup lead “Reproductive”).
The 2015 AGRICOH Annual Meeting
On 19th and 20th November Pierre Lebailly and colleagus at the Centre François Baclesse, in Caen, Normandy, France, hosted the 2015 annual AGRICOH consortium meeting. We warmly thank Pierre, Severine, Isabelle and Celine for the great hospitality.
The meeting was very informative with respect to ongoing projects or new project ideas. Forty-five researchers interested in agricultural exposures and various health outcomes, including cancer, met for two days, including several potential new collaborators. 18 AGRICOH consortium members were represented at the meeting. The meeting was also a good opportunity to meet researchers interested in joining AGRICOH.
We are most grateful to the Mayor of Caen for the wonderful dinner organized for the AGRICOH members on Thursday 19th November. Merci bien!
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