Résumé :
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[BDSP. Notice produite par INIST-CNRS GTcMR0xh. Diffusion soumise à autorisation]. Background : It is widely believed that children of high socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely than those of low SES to develop acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Such observations have led to wide-ranging speculations about the potential aetiological role of factors associated with affluence and modernization. Methods : Children (0-14 years) newly diagnosed with cancer in the UK between 1991 and 1996 were ascertained via a rapid hospital-based case finding system (n=4430, of which 1578 were ALL). Children without cancer (controls) were randomly selected from primary care population registries for comparative purposes (n=7763). Area-based deprivation scores were assigned as markers of SES at two time points-birth and diagnosis. An individual-based marker of SES-social class-was assigned using father's occupation as recorded on the child's birth certificate. Results : No differences in area-based measures of deprivation were observed between cases and controls at time of diagnosis, either for all cancers combined [n=4430, odds ratio (OR)=1.00 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.98-1.01) ] or for ALL alone (n=1578 OR=0.99,95% CI 0.96-1.01). Findings were similar at time of birth (all cancers, OR=0.99 95% CI 0.98-1.01, ALL OR=0.98,95% CI 0.96-1.00). In addition, no case-control differences were observed when an individual-based measure of SES-social class-based on father's occupation at time of birth was used. Conclusions : The comprehensive nature of the data, coupled with complete case-ascertainment and representative population-based controls suggests that SES in the UK is not a determinant of ALL in children. We believe the small effects reported for SES in some past studies may be artefactual.
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