{"title":"The association between increases in nitrate in drinking water and colorectal cancer incidence rates in California, USA.","authors":"Ricardo Cisneros, Marzieh Amiri, Hamed Gharibi","doi":"10.1007/s10552-025-02003-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The water resources in California are polluted with nitrate (NO<sub>3</sub>) due to the ever-increasing application of nitrogen-based fertilizers. Considering the potential connection between NO<sub>3</sub> in drinking water and the incidence rate of colorectal cancer, this study aims to investigate the association between long-term exposure to NO<sub>3</sub> via drinking water and the incidence of colorectal cancer from 2010 to 2015 in California.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 56,631 diagnoses of colorectal cancer were recorded from 2010 to 2015. A generalized linear model was used to obtain the risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval associated with a 1 mg/l-NO<sub>3</sub> increase in NO<sub>3</sub> concentration across five latency periods. The potential effect modification by sex, race/ethnicity, and age (> 40, 41-64, 65-90, and > 90) was explored through stratification.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The association between increases in the concentration of NO<sub>3</sub> at lag 0-1, lag 0-5, lag 0-10, lag 0-15, and lag 0-20 (RRs: 1.056 [1.055, 1.058]; 1.066 [1.063, 1.069]; 1.030 [1.028, 1.031]; 1.017 [1.016, 1.018]; 1.035 [1.034, 1.037], respectively) was positively associated with the RR of colorectal cancer. Sex was not found to be a significant modifier. The RRs for Hispanics, Blacks, and other races were greater than those for Whites; the RRs across different age categories were all significantly positive.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study confirms an association between long-term NO<sub>3</sub> exposure in drinking water and the incidence of colorectal cancer in California, emphasizing the need for stringent water quality control and public health strategies to address this risk, particularly in vulnerable populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":9432,"journal":{"name":"Cancer Causes & Control","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cancer Causes & Control","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-025-02003-5","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ONCOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: The water resources in California are polluted with nitrate (NO3) due to the ever-increasing application of nitrogen-based fertilizers. Considering the potential connection between NO3 in drinking water and the incidence rate of colorectal cancer, this study aims to investigate the association between long-term exposure to NO3 via drinking water and the incidence of colorectal cancer from 2010 to 2015 in California.
Methods: A total of 56,631 diagnoses of colorectal cancer were recorded from 2010 to 2015. A generalized linear model was used to obtain the risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval associated with a 1 mg/l-NO3 increase in NO3 concentration across five latency periods. The potential effect modification by sex, race/ethnicity, and age (> 40, 41-64, 65-90, and > 90) was explored through stratification.
Results: The association between increases in the concentration of NO3 at lag 0-1, lag 0-5, lag 0-10, lag 0-15, and lag 0-20 (RRs: 1.056 [1.055, 1.058]; 1.066 [1.063, 1.069]; 1.030 [1.028, 1.031]; 1.017 [1.016, 1.018]; 1.035 [1.034, 1.037], respectively) was positively associated with the RR of colorectal cancer. Sex was not found to be a significant modifier. The RRs for Hispanics, Blacks, and other races were greater than those for Whites; the RRs across different age categories were all significantly positive.
Conclusion: This study confirms an association between long-term NO3 exposure in drinking water and the incidence of colorectal cancer in California, emphasizing the need for stringent water quality control and public health strategies to address this risk, particularly in vulnerable populations.
期刊介绍:
Cancer Causes & Control is an international refereed journal that both reports and stimulates new avenues of investigation into the causes, control, and subsequent prevention of cancer. By drawing together related information published currently in a diverse range of biological and medical journals, it has a multidisciplinary and multinational approach.
The scope of the journal includes: variation in cancer distribution within and between populations; factors associated with cancer risk; preventive and therapeutic interventions on a population scale; economic, demographic, and health-policy implications of cancer; and related methodological issues.
The emphasis is on speed of publication. The journal will normally publish within 30 to 60 days of acceptance of manuscripts.
Cancer Causes & Control publishes Original Articles, Reviews, Commentaries, Opinions, Short Communications and Letters to the Editor which will have direct relevance to researchers and practitioners working in epidemiology, medical statistics, cancer biology, health education, medical economics and related fields. The journal also contains significant information for government agencies concerned with cancer research, control and policy.