Cancer incidence among visual artists: 45 years of follow-up in four Nordic countries

Abstract

Introduction

Professional visual artists constitute a heterogeneous vocational group, including, but not limited to painters, photographers, textile artists, and sculptors who may face exposure to workplace hazardous substances and lifestyle factors that may contribute to the development of selected cancers. The objective of this registry-based cohort study was to assess the cancer incidence among Nordic visual artists.

Materials and methods

This study is based on data from the Nordic Occupational Cancer (NOCCA) project that combines census data of 15 million people from all Nordic countries and cancer registries from 1961 to 2005. For the present study we selected a cohort of visual artists from Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Standardized incidence ratio (SIR) analyses were conducted with the cancer incidence rates for the entire national study populations used as reference rates.

Results

In male visual artists, there were statistically significant excesses in cancers of the tongue (SIR 2.91, 95% confidence interval 1.74–4.55), oral cavity (2.09, 1.26–3.27), pharynx (2.18, 1.45-–3.15), testis (1.91, 1.11–3.05), renal pelvis (2.48, 1.42–4.03) and bladder (1.33, 1.14–1.55). The risk was significantly decreased for cancers of the lip (0.45, 0.18-0.93) and stomach (0.65, 0.50–0.84). In female visual artists, the only significantly increased risk was observed for breast cancer (1.29, 1.13–1.48) and the only significantly decreased risk for stomach cancer (0.43, 0.17–0.88). The incidence of lung cancer was close to the population average in both sexes.

Conclusions

The non-elevated incidence of lung cancer suggests a similar prevalence of smoking between visual artists and the general population, while the elevated risk of cancers of mouth and pharynx among male visual artists is suggestive of more widespread alcohol drinking. The excess risk of urogenital cancers might be associated with exposure to solvents.

NOVELTY & IMPACT

The exposure of visual artists to carcinogens remains unstudied and equivocal. The current study suggests that visual artists carry an overall cancer risk that is slightly above the risk among the general population of the four Nordic countries. We observed in men over two-fold excess risks of cancers of the tongue, oral cavity, pharynx, and renal pelvis, and also a significant risk of testis and bladder cancers.

Keywords:

• Cancer
• artistic work
• incidence
• occupation
• risk

Authors’ contributions

This article was designed by Eero Pukkala, Miikka Peltomaa, and Antti Mäkitie. Eero Pukkala, Jenny Selander, Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum, and Jóhanna Eyrún Torfadottir, and are responsible for the accuracy of the data from their countries. Statistical analyses were performed by Jan Ivar Martinsen. The manuscript was devised by Rayan Nikkilä, Miikka Peltomaa, Timo Carpén, Jan Ivar Martinsen, Sanna Heikkinen, Jenny Selander, Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum, Jóhanna Eyrún Torfadottir, Antti Mäkitie, Eero Pukkala. All authors contributed to the revision of the manuscript and had final approval of the submitted and published versions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

Data available on https://astra.cancer.fi/NOCCA/

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Finska Läkaresällskapet, the Helsinki University Hospital Research Funding, and the Nordic Cancer Union (NCU). The funders had no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication.