%0 Journal Article
%T Occupation and tongue cancer in Nordic countries.
%A Peltonen J
%A Nikkilä R
%A Al-Samadi A
%A Mäkitie A
%A Martinsen JI
%A Kjaerheim K
%A Lynge E
%A Sparen P
%A Tryggvadottir L
%A Weiderpass E
%A Salo T
%A Pukkala E
%J BMC Oral Health
%V 24
%N 1
%D 2024 Apr 29
%M 38685000
%F 3.747
%R 10.1186/s12903-024-04172-2
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>Almost 200,000 tongue cancers were diagnosed worldwide in 2020. The aim of this study was to describe occupational risk variation in this malignancy.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>The data are based on the Nordic Occupational Cancer (NOCCA) study containing 14.9 million people from the Nordic countries with 9020 tongue cancers diagnosed during 1961-2005. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of tongue cancer in each occupational category was calculated using national incidence rates as the reference.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Among men, the incidence was statistically significantly elevated in waiters (SIR 4.36, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.13--5.92), beverage workers (SIR 3.42, 95% CI 2.02-5.40), cooks and stewards (SIR 2.55, 95% CI 1.82-3.48), seamen (SIR 1.66, 95% CI 1.36-2.00), journalists (SIR 1.85, 95% CI 1.18-2.75), artistic workers (SIR 2.05, 95% CI 1.54-2.66), hairdressers (SIR 2.17, 95% CI 1.39-3.22), and economically inactive persons (SIR 1.57, 95% CI 1.42-1.73). Among women, the SIR was statistically significantly elevated only in waitresses (SIR 1.39, 95% CI 1.05-1.81). Statistically significant SIRs ≤ 0.63 were observed in male farmers, gardeners, forestry workers and teachers, and in female launderers.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>These findings may be related to consumption of alcohol and tobacco, but the effect of carcinogenic exposure from work cannot be excluded.