Date of filling in this questionnaire or last update: 12/01/2022
1. IDENTIFICATION & BASIC DESCRIPTION
Cohort name
Australian firefighter cohort
Country
  • Australia
Please provide any other information on the cohort location/s if needed
Covers employed and volunteer firefighters in most States of Australia
Name
Deborah Glass
Institution
Monash University
Email
deborah.glass@monash.edu
Phone
+61399030554
Personal website
https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/deborah-glass
Website
  • https://www.monash.edu/medicine/sphpm/coeh/researchprogram/ausfireftr
Name of committee
Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee
Contact Principal Investigator (name)
Deborah Glass
Is this cohort part of a consortium? (name consortium)
No.
Main aim of cohort, please briefly describe the main objectives of the cohort
Investigate cancer incidence and mortality in a national cohort of Australian firefighters
Comparators (please select as many as appropriate)
  • Internal study population
  • External study population (includes SMR/SIR studies)
Inclusion criteria
Employed or volunteer firefighter for at least three months
Exclusion criteria
Employed for less than three months
Enrollment
Completed
Age range at entry (main cohort)
Minimum Maximum Mean
34
Men at enrollment
30057
Participation rate at enrollment (if known)
100
Comments
Personal identifiers and employment data retrieved from HR databases
2. OUTCOME FOLLOW-UP
Type of data for outcome follow-up (please select as many as appropriate)
  • Death certificate
  • Disease incidence records
  • Use of registers (specify)
Death certificate (specify)
  • Cause of death
Disease incidence records (specify)
  • Cancer incidence
Specify: Use of registers
  • Australian Cancer database and National Death Index
First follow-up period (provide year)
2011
Last follow-up period (provide year)
2011
Number of follow-ups after baseline (provide number)
1
Participation at last follow-up (if known)
100
3. OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES
Source of exposure data collected (please select as many as appropriate)
  • Job-employment records
Occupational history/time frame
Lifetime
Occupational coding performed
Yes
Occupation (specify coding system used)
  • ASCO
Industry (specify coding system used)
  • Not applicable
Methods for exposure assessment (please select as many as appropriate)
  • Expert assessment
  • Other (specify)
Specify: Other
Incident database
Main categories
  • Dusts and fibres
Dusts and fibres | Organic dusts
  • Other (specify)
Dusts and fibres | Organic dusts | Specify: Other
Particulate from fires
Dusts and fibres | Other
  • Other
Dusts and fibres | Other | Specify: Other
Other pyrolysis products during fires
4. OUTCOMES EVALUATED
Follow-up - type of outcome data collected (select more than one if applicable)
  • Death certificates
  • Registry-based
Registry-based
  • Cancer incidence
  • Mortality register
Outcome type (please select as many as appropriate)
  • Mortality
  • Morbidity
Diagnostic groups based on ICD10
  • C + D Neoplasms
  • Other (specify)
Other (specify)
All causes of death
C + D Neoplasms
  • Benign neoplasm
  • Carcinoma in situ
  • Leukemia
  • Malignant neoplasms gastro intes. system including liver, gall bladder, pancreas
  • Malignant neoplasm lung
  • Mesothelioma
  • Other malignant neoplasm of respiratory and intrathoracic organs, heart, pleura
  • Malignant neoplasm of bone and articular cartilage
  • Melanoma and other malignant neoplasms of skin
  • Neoplasms connective and soft tissue including nerves
  • Malignant neoplasm of breast
  • Malignant neoplasms, females gynecological
  • Malignant neoplasms of male genital organs
  • Malignant neoplasm of urinary tract and kidney
  • Malignant neoplasms of eye, brain and other parts of central nervous system
  • Malignant neoplasms of thyroid and other endocrine glands
  • Malignant neoplasms of ill-defined, secondary and unspecified sites
  • Malignant neoplasm without specification of site including excl. leukemia
  • Other, please state
6. Other Information
  • Smoking
Possibility for linkage to data registries/data enrichment via data linkage
  • Cancer incidence
  • Disease specific clinical database
  • Hospital discharge
  • Medication usage
  • Mortality register
Please describe plans that are funded or most likely to be funded
Recent grant awarded from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council to do a follow up cancer and mortality linkage and investigate PFAS exposure (firefighter foams).