Association between Aqueous Atrazine and Pediatric Cancer in Nebraska

Authors

Jagadeesh Puvvula, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Balkiss S. Ouattara, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Alan S. Kolok, University of Idaho
Jesse E. Bell, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Eleanor G. Rogan, University of Nebraska Medical Center

ORCID IDs

Jagadeesh Puvvula

Alan S. Kolok

Date of this Version

10-2-2021

Citation

Puvvula, J.; Bartelt-Hunt, S.L.; Ouattara, B.S.; Kolok, A.S.; Bell, J.E.; Rogan, E.G. Association between Aqueous Atrazine and Pediatric Cancer in Nebraska. Water 2021, 13, 2727. https://doi.org/10.3390/ w13192727

Comments

CC-BY

Abstract

Agrichemicals, chemicals used to maximize crop and animal production, can lead to water quality concerns when these chemicals run off into surface and groundwater after precipitation events. In Nebraska, one such chemical is atrazine, a suspected carcinogen. This study evaluated the association between atrazine in surface and groundwater, in relation to the incidence of pediatric cancer in Nebraska watersheds over 30 years (1 January 1987 to 31 December 2016). The watersheds were grouped into four categories based on the average atrazine concentration over the study period, using quantile classification. The associations between atrazine (ground/surface) and pediatric cancer after adjusting for social vulnerability index (SVI) variables, using pediatric population as offset, were compared using a generalized linear model (GLM) assuming a negative binomial distribution. The results from the GLM approach suggested positive associations between watersheds with higher atrazine concentration and a higher pediatric cancer incidence rate ratio. In this study, the associations were evaluated using atrazine measurements obtained from non-drinking water sources as a proxy measure. Further research is necessary to establish the causal relationship between atrazine and pediatric cancer.