Acute myeloid leukemia versus professional occupation: the profile of workers treated at the Recife Hematology Hospital

Abstract

The objective of this study was to learn the profile of workers in the economically active age group admitted from 1997 to 2007 to a hematology hospital, diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML); check which professions have the highest prevalence among the assisted workers who died; and identify the occupational risks compatible with the appearance of AML in the prevalent professions. This is a quantitative, exploratory study. Most profiles were characterized as originally from the agreste and the metropolitan region of the state of Pernambuco, male, white, and with incomplete primary education. The most common occupations were related to agriculture and domestic work, both of which involve the use of chemical substances that, according to literature, are possible factors involved in triggering the pathology.