28 April 2025
AGRICOH Webinar: Pesticides research in Latin America
On 5 March 2025, Drs Sandra Cortés, Marian Butinof, and Henrique Silveira presented a joint webinar on their research on pesticides in Latin America. Latin America is a region of intensive agricultural production with the highest per capita pesticide use. At the same time, pesticide regulations are limited or non-existent, resulting in widespread exposure to agricultural and non-agricultural populations, including to chemicals banned in other countries. The presenters described their research programs on exposure to pesticides and/or their health effects in three Latin American countries.
1- Pesticide exposure assessment: concepts and examples from MAUCO Chile [Dr. Sandra Cortés]
2- How to measure pesticide exposure for epidemiological surveillance? Pesticide exposure in agricultural environments in Argentina [Dr. Mariana Butinof]
3- Rural workers and cancer: a Brazilian cohort study [Dr. Henrique Silveira]
A recording of the webinar can be found at https://youtu.be/jZxOi_BsEXA.
28 April 2025
AGRICOH Webinar: Reaching Migrant Farmworkers to Promote Health and Well-being
On 11 September 2024, Dr. Linda Forst (University of Illinois Chicago) gave a webinar on the social and physical challenges of migrant farmworkers, participatory considerations, and the early results of her research promoting health and well-being among migrant farmworkers. Globally, the Agriculture sector is populated by migrant workers poorly protected by employment, health, and immigration laws. Led by Dr. Forst, the Great Lakes Center for Farmworker Health and Well-being is developing a participatory approach to guide ethical and targeted interventions to change the conditions that challenge migrant farmworkers and their families’ ability to live healthy lives.
A recording of the webinar can be found at https://youtu.be/iCTN1dTHFlY.
20 February 2024
AGRICOH Webinar: The IMPRESS Project
On February 14, 2024, Dr. Hans Kromhout gave a webinar on the IMPRoving Exposure aSSessment Methodologies for Epidemiological studies on Pesticides (IMPRESS) project, which aimed to further our understanding of the performance of pesticide exposure assessment methods. Based on the findings of the IMPRESS project, insights were provided on the question "How can exposure assessment for pesticides in epidemiological studies be improved?"
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7 July 2023
Published article on use of pesticides and the risk of Hodgkin lymphoma among farmers
Using data from three cohorts participating in AGRICOH totalling more than 300,000 farmers, the AGRICOH Cancer Subgroup did not find evidence for elevated risks of Hodgkin lymphoma related to the professional use of 22 individual pesticide active ingredients or 13 chemical groups.
Hodgkin lymphoma is a heterogeneous and relatively rare cancer, which makes studying risk factors challenging. This was the largest prospective investigation of potential associations between pesticides and the risk of Hodgkin lymphoma. This analysis used data from the French Agriculture and Cancer Cohort, the Cancer in the Norwegian Agricultural Population cohort, and the US Agricultural Health Study. The article is accessible through open access.
Read article.
8 July 2022
AGRICOH Consortium Meeting on July 6-7, 2022, in Caen, France
The AGRICOH Consortium will hold its 2022 meeting on July 6-7, 2022, hosted by the Centre Francois Baclesse at the University of Caen, Normandy, France. The program foresees an update from the individual cohort studies of the consortium, sessions from the AGRICOH subgroups and discussion of new initiatives and ideas.
1 July 2022
Launch of a AGRICOH project on pesticide use and female breast cancer
On July 1, 2022, AGRICOH officially started its newest research project on the association between exposure to selected pesticides and the risk of breast cancer in women, involving the large-scale cohort studies from France (AGRICAN), Norway (CNAP), and the USA (AHS), led by the Institute of Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS) at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and by the Environment and Lifestyle Epidemiology Branch of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO). First step is to expand previous work on exposure assessment including exposures from re-entry tasks and exposures to active ingredients hypothesized to be related to the risk of breast cancer, followed by risk analyses. The project is planned for a 3-year period and is supported by the Dutch Cancer Society/KWF (Koningin Wilhelmina Fonds voor de Nederlandse Kankerbestrijding).
December 2021
Cancer incidence in agricultural workers: Findings from an international consortium of agricultural cohort studies (AGRICOH)
In this paper, the Cancer subgroup analyzed cancer incidence in >248,000 agricultural workers from 8 AGRICOH cohorts. The results suggest a lower risk of various cancers and an elevated risk of prostate cancer, multiple myeloma (female), and melanoma of skin (female) in agricultural workers compared to the general population. Those differences from the general population and the between-cohort variations may be due to underlying differences in risk factors and warrant further investigation of agricultural exposures.
Read article
December 2020
New AGRICOH Steering Group elected for the term 2021-2025
The new Steering Group was elected for the term from January 2021 to December 2025. The Steering Group discusses general matters of the consortium and holds bi-monthly conference calls. The new Steering Group, in alphabetical order, will be Drs Isabelle Baldi (Subgroup lead "Neurological"), Laura Beane Freeman (Subgroup lead "Cancer"), Jeroen Douwes (Subgroup lead "Respiratory"), Hans Kromhout (Subgroup lead "Exposure"), Pierre Lebailly, Karl-Christian Nordby, Paul Romitti (Subgroup lead "Reproductive"), Joachim Schüz and Kayo Togawa, supported by Ljubica Zupunski as rapporteur.
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March 2020
Gender differences in respiratory health outcomes among farming cohorts around the globe: findings from the AGRICOH consortium
Fix J, Annesi-Maesano I, Baldi I, Boulanger M, Cheng S, Cortes S, Dalphin JC, Dalvie MA, Degano B, Douwes J, Eduard W, Elholm G, Ferreccio C, Harding AH, Jeebhay M, Kelly KM, Kromhout H, MacFarlane E, Maesano CN, Mitchell DC, Mwanga H, Naidoo S, Negatu B, Ngajilo D, Nordby KC, Parks CG, Schenker MB, Shin A, Sisgaard T, Sim M, Soumagne T, Thorne P, Yoo KY, Hoppin JA. J Agromedicine. 2020 Mar 17:1-12. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2020.1713274. Epub ahead of print. PubMed PMID: 32182198.
The Respiratory group completes its first paper. Using respiratory data from 18 AGRICOH cohorts, the respiratory group compared differences in respiratory symptoms and disease among agricultural populations globally. This paper integrated data from over 200,000 farmers, farm workers and their spouses from 1992-2006. Overall, respiratory symptoms were more common in male than female farmers, while asthma was more common in women. Specifically allergic asthma was more common in women. This paper highlights the diversity in agricultural practices among the cohorts in AGRICOH, but indicates that respiratory symptoms and disease remain a major burden for agricultural workers.
November 2019
AGRICOH Subgroup Cancer Meeting November 2019
On 26th and 27th 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, co-hosted by the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS) of the University of Utrecht and the Section of Environment and Radiation of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO).
The objective of the meeting was to plan future projects, including a cancer incidence comparison between the agricultural and general populations of various countries, more in-depth analyses with updated follow up of pooling projects on the risk of haematological malignancies in relation to pesticides associated with risk in previous analyses, and in relation to other selected cancers.
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November 2019
Animal farming and the risk of lymphohaematopoietic cancers: a meta-analysis of three cohort studies within the AGRICOH consortium
El-Zaemey S, Schinasi LH, Ferro G, Tual S, Lebailly P, Baldi I, Nordby KC, Kjærheim K, Schüz J, Monnereau A, Brouwer M, Koutros S, Hofmann J, Kristensen P, Kromhout H, Leon ME, Beane Freeman LE. Occup Environ Med. 2019 Nov;76(11):827-837. doi:10.1136/oemed-2018-105655. Epub 2019 Jul 13. PubMed PMID: 31302607.
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
27-28 November 2017
AGRICOH Subgroup Cancer Meeting
On 27 and 28 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.
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January 2017
Published article on exposure assessment
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." PMID: 27566783 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. PMID: 27852645
June 2016
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. PMID: 27009271
January 2016
2nd AGRICOH Steering Group inaugurated
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”).
December 2015
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”).
December 2015
AGRICOH decided changing governance structure; elected subgroup leaders would be ex-officio steering group members, additional election of four steering group members, and replacing coordination by having chair of the steering group elected from among steering group members.
AGRICOH thanked Dr Maria Leon-Roux for her excellent service and all outgoing steering group members and subgroup leads for their dedication to the work of the consortium.
19-20 November 2015
The 2015 AGRICOH Annual Meeting
On 19 and 20 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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19-20 November 2015
AGRICOH Consortium meeting, held independently
Centre Francois Baclesse, Caen, France
24 June 2014
AGRICOH meeting held in connection with the EPICOH conference
Chicago, USA
18 June 2012
AGRICOH meeting held in connection with the EPICOH conference
Utrecht, The Netherlands
2012
Start of first externally funded AGRICOH project “Exposure to pesticides and risk of lymphoma, myeloma and leukemia in the AGRICOH consortium- a pooled analysis”
The project is pooling three cohorts from France, Norway and the USA, coordinated by the IARC (PI Dr Maria Leon-Roux), funded by the “Office national de l'eau et des milieux aquatiques (ONEMA)”, France.
12-13 September 2011
AGRICOH meeting held in connection with the ISEE conference at the Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL)
Barcelona, Spain
2010-2012
Establishment of subgroups dealing with specific topics within AGRICOH
Enhancing communication among AGRICOH members with interests in those topics; appointment of subgroup leads, Drs Laura Beane Freeman (“Cancer”), Jane Hopppin (“Respiratory”), Hans Kromhout (“Exposure”), Isabelle Baldi (“Neurological”), Marc Schenker (“Reproductive”; in 2014 subgroup lead taken over by Leslie Stayner)
December 2010
Election of the 1st AGRICOH Steering Group (SG) for a term of five years (2011-2015)
The election took place with members Drs Laura Beane Freeman, Jeroen Douwes, Jane Hoppin, Hans Kromhout, Pierre Lebailly, Karl-Christina Nordby, Marc Schenker, Joachim Schüz, and Stephen Waring; and election of the AGRICOH coordinator Dr Maria Leon-Roux (IARC)
19-20 October 2010
Workshop supported by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology, US National Cancer Institute (NCI)
IARC, Lyon, France
The outcome of the workshop was to launch the AGRICOH consortium, to be coordinated at the IARC