New Paper on Childhood Leukemia in Basrah, Iraq
A new paper has just come out in the American Journal of Public Health on the troubling increase in childhood leukemia rates in southern Iraq between 1993 and 2007. HAI's Senior Health Workforce Advisor, Dr. Amy Hagopian, was one of the paper's authors.
The study, conducted in partnership between the University of Basrah and the University of Washington, looked at childhood leukemia cases at Ibn Ghazwan Women and Children's Hospital in Basrah. The authors found that incidence (confirmed leukemia diagnosis in children aged 0-14) increased from 2.6 per 100,000 population in 1993 to 6.9 per 100,000 in 2007. Several years reached a peak of 11-12 cases per 100,000 population, which is about triple the rates from Oman, Europe and the U.S.
"We found that recorded childhood leukemia rates in Basrah more than doubled over the 15-year period of 1993–2007. The surge was particularly concentrated in the age group of 0 to 4 years."
The authors discuss several possible reasons for the increase in leukemia rates, including the effects of pollutants and contaminants associated with the war with Iran in the 1980s, the Gulf War in 1991 and the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Documented levels of exposure to contaminants don't exist, so dose-response associations for the cases included in this study can't be made. The study has several limitations, such as that childhood cancers are rare and therefore it is difficult to calculate trends, there may have been "reduced case ascertainment" during wartime, and results from other countries may not be comparable due to different data collection methods.
Nonetheless, this paper documents the drastic increase in childhood leukemia in Basrah since 1993, and adds an important piece of information to the linkages between war and health. The authors next hope to look more into the causes of these elevated rates, particularly the possible associations with petroleum fires, benzene, depleted uranium, or other contaminants associated with the ongoing conflict in Iraq.
To find the full paper, visit the American Journal of Public Health web site.
The findings have also been reported in the popular media, including the Times, Yahoo News, ScienceDaily, Medindia, and more.
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