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Cited by 13Air Quality and Health ImpactsEnvironmental Justice and Health DisparitiesGlobal Cancer Incidence and Screening

Associations of Adolescence Exposure to Industrial Air Pollution with Cancer in Young Adults

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Lev Bar-Or, Ruth, Yuval, Twig, Gilad, Broday, David M., Keinan-Boker, Lital, Paltiel, Ora, Sinnreich, Ronit, Tzur, Dorit +2 more·2023·Environment & Health
DOI 10.1021/envhealth.3c00030PMC PMC11504549
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Abstract

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide There is substantial public concern about the health risks of proximity to petrochemical industries. In the Haifa Bay Area (HBA), which contains Israel’s densest industrial area, these concerns have been strengthened by elevated cancer mortality rates since the late 1960s. We studied the association between adolescent exposure to industrial air pollution in the HBA and adult-onset cancer. This is a historical cohort study. The study population comprised 2,187,317 subjects, using the Israeli medical corps data linked to the Israel National Cancer Registry with follow-up of up to 45 years. Exposure assessments were estimated by a spatial kriging interpolation model of SO 2, serving as a marker for the dispersion of air pollution emitted from the complex during the study period. We found increased crude (HR = 1.23, 95%CI= 1.17 to 1.29) and adjusted (HR = 1.16, 95%CI = 1.10 to 1.21) risk of cancer with increased exposure to air pollution in HBA. The associations remained robust in analyses stratified by decade and socio-economic status. We found evidence of monotonically increased risk in five of 13 cancer categories (leukemia, melanoma, female breast, central nervous system, and thyroid tumors). Our findings strengthen the hypothesis that this exposure posed a carcinogenic risk during the study period.

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  • Lev Bar-Or et al. showed an increase in the risk of MSC in adolescents across Israel with exposure to industrial air pollution in the Haifa Bay Area (28% increase).

    “The study by Lev Bar-Or et al. [35] shows an increase in the risk of MSC in adolescents across Israel with exposure to industrial AP in the Haifa Bay Area (28% increase).”

    From Air Pollution and Skin Diseases: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological Evidence (2026) · cites this paper as [35]

    The Results (Table 4; page not available in our copy) report a 28% higher adjusted melanoma risk in the highest Haifa Bay industrial-air-pollution exposure category than in non-Haifa Bay residents. The study assessed exposure during adolescence but followed participants for cancer diagnosed later; it does not establish a 28% increase in MSC diagnosed in adolescents or in all types of skin cancer. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Only eight included studies used other exposures such as air pollution mixture, industrial air pollution, solid fuel pollution, and hydrocarbons.

    “Only eight studies have used other exposures, such as AP mixture, industrial AP, solid fuel pollution, and hydrocarbons [32–36].”

    From Air Pollution and Skin Diseases: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological Evidence (2026) · cites this paper as [35]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Lev Bar-Or, R., Yuval, Twig, G., Broday, D. M., Keinan-Boker, L., Paltiel, O., Sinnreich, R., Tzur, D., Derazne, E., & Raz, R.
Affiliations
  • Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem─Hadassah, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
  • Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (IL)
  • Tel Aviv University (IL)
  • Israel Center for Disease Control, Israel Ministry of Health, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel
  • Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
  • Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps (IL)
Corresponding author
Raz, Raanan
ORCID
Venue
Environment & Health
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Published
2023-06-21
Volume
1
Issue
1
Pages
53-62
ISSN
2833-8278 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1021/envhealth.3c00030
PMC
PMC11504549
OpenAlex
W4381486319
Cited by
13
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2
FWCI
1.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Environment & Health (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Ministry of Environmental Protection (161-2-9)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Environmental Justice and Health Disparities
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Global Cancer Incidence and Screening
Keywords
industrial air pollution, adolescent exposure, adult-onset cancer, petrochemical industry, sulfur dioxide, cancer risk, leukemia, melanoma, breast cancer, central nervous system tumors, thyroid tumors, socioeconomic status

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