1. ¹INSERM, U754, Hôpital Paul Brousse, F-94807 Villejuif, France
2. ²Université Paris XI, F-94276 Kremlin-Bicêtre, France
3. ³French Registry of Childhood Haematopoietic malignancies, F-94807 Villejuif, France
4. ⁴INSEE Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, F-13387 Marseille, France

Correspondence: Dr S Bellec, INSERM, U754, Hôpital Paul Brousse, F-94807 Villejuif, France. E-mail: bellec@vjf.inserm.fr

Received 24 September 2007; Revised 9 November 2007; Accepted 14 November 2007; Published online 18 December 2007.

Abstract

In a national study, we investigated the incidence of childhood leukaemia (CL) over a 14-year period in France in relation to several measures based on the proportion of individuals who changed address between the last two national censuses. A positive association was found with the proportion of migrants who came from a distant place. The further the migrants came, the higher was the incidence of leukaemia, particularly among children aged 0–4 years in 'isolated' communes at the time of diagnosis (RR=1.4, 95% CI: 1.1,1.8 in the highest category of migration distance). Although the role of the population density was less obvious, a more marked association was found above a certain threshold. No association with the proportion of commuters was observed.