The Association Between Lifestyle and Incidence of Leukemia in Adults in Ahvaz, Iran

Background Khuzestan province has faced a sharp increase of leukemia incidence and mortality during the recent years. Many studies have investigated the risk factors associated with leukemia, but inconsistent findings have been reported. To the best to our knowledge, no other study has assessed the association between lifestyle and incidence of leukemia in Ahvaz province, Iran. Objectives This study was conducted to investigate the association between lifestyle and incidence of leukemia in adults in Ahvaz, located in southwest Iran. Patients and Methods This case-control study was conducted on 80 adult patients with leukemia (referred to Shefa and Golestan hospitals in Ahvaz, Iran in 2014 - 2015) and 80 healthy individuals matched by gender and age. The data was collected by a researcher-created questionnaire assessing individual demographics and some lifestyle-related factors, and was analyzed by descriptive statistics and a chi-square test, using SPSS16. Results Exposure to radiation (P = 0.0001), chemicals (P = 0.02), pesticides (P = 0.01), and contact with pets or livestock (P = 0.0001) were associated with the risk of leukemia, but a history of smoking (P = 0.19) and drinking alcohol (P = 0.59), as well as living close to power transmission and distribution lines (P = 0.25), showed no association with leukemia. Conclusions This study showed that some lifestyle factors, particularly exposure to radiation, chemicals, pesticides, and contact with pets or livestock, can play an important role in etiology of leukemia