Cancer is increasing in rate globally and is leading cause of death among no communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) after cardiovascular disease (CVD). Most of the research focuses on the risk of occupational injury, job stress, mental illness, substance abuse and workplace safety in physicians and nurses. However, fewer studies have investigated the risk of cancer in pharmacists. We compared the matched general population to investigate the risk of cancer in pharmacists in Taiwan. Data were obtained from the Health and Welfare Data Science Center of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan. We established a pharmacist group that included 11,568 pharmacists and selected a 4-fold comparison (n = 46,272) for the non-clinics comparison group, frequency being matched by age, gender and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score. The pharmacists had a lower but non-significant risk of all cancer (Adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.85-1.07) compared with the general population. Female pharmacists had a higher risk of cancer than male pharmacists ([aHR] = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.06-1.43). Pharmacists had higher risks of breast cancer in females (aHR = 1.68; 95% CI = 1.35-2.08) and of prostate cancer in males (aHR = 2.18; 95% CI = 1.35-2.08) when compared with the general population. Occupational risk factors could play a role, but they were not evaluated. These epidemiological findings require additional studies to clarify cancer risk mechanisms in pharmacists.
Keywords: cancer; occupational; pharmacists; risk factor.