Apitherapy News calls itself "The Internet's Best Source of Information About the Medicinal Use of Bee Products". Yet the following example shows how little attention they pay to fact checking and sources. Last month they ran a story on "Honeybees Health Benefits and Cancer" where they cite "Dr W. Schweisheimer" saying "scientists at the Berlin Cancer Institute in Germany had never encountered a beekeeper with cancer."
However, he is referring to a study made in the 1940s, which is not cited. More recent research would contradict such a statement. In 1979, we read "This study of beekeepers reveals neither adverse nor beneficial effects of intense exposure to bee stings."
More recent work showed no significant difference between beekeepers and the general population in relation to bee sting allergy. They did make this connection, however: "Those beekeepers who were allergic
to bee venom were more emotionally unstable and nervous." And, "Beekeepers who are less emotionally stable are more likely to continue beekeeping in spite of allergic reactions."
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Apitherapy News - The Internet's Best Source of Information About the Medicinal Use of Bee Products
Honeybees Health Benefits and Cancer
Inform Africa, December 25, 2011
Beekeepers have the lowest incidence of cancer of all the occupations worldwide. This fact was acknowledged in the annual report of the New York Cancer Research Institute in 1965. Almost half a century ago, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 9(2), Oct., 1948, published a report by William Robinson, M.D., et al., in which it was claimed that bee pollen added to food (in the ratio of 1 part to 10,000) prevented or delayed the appearance of malignant mammary tumour.
Dr W. Schweisheimer also said that scientists at the Berlin Cancer Institute in Germany had never encountered a beekeeper with cancer. A French study concerning the cause of death of 1,000 beekeepers included only case of a beekeeper that died of cancer. The incidence of cancer-caused deaths in a group of French farmers was 100 times higher than the group of beekeepers.
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Dr. W. Schweisheimer stated, "A strange observation some 20 years ago had been made by the
Berlin Cancer Institute. Its scientists and doctors had never seen a bee keeper who was
suffering from cancer." (Schweisheimer. Gleanings in Bee Culture. September 1967)
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Abstract
Carcinogenic effects of bee venom were evaluated in a mortality study of 580 occupationally exposed beekeepers. The subjects were identified through obituary notices published between 1949 and 1978 in three journals of the U.S. beekeeping industry. Death certificates of beekeepers were examined for causes of mortality, and proportionate mortality ratios were compared with those for the general U.S. population, Beekeepers had a slightly lower than expected fraction of deaths from cancer. The deficit of lung cancers in male beekeepers was significant (P < 0.05) and may indicate that fewer beekeepers were cigarette smokers. The frequencies of other cancers did not differ significantly from expectation. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma developed in four persons, and was expected in two. Motality from diseases other than cancer showed no unusual patterns. At least two persons died from accidents directly related to the care of beehives. Analysis of a subgroup of 377 males woth major roles in the beeleeping industry showed no substantial differences in distribution of causes of death. This study of beekeepers reveals neither adverse nor beneficial effects of intense exposure to bee stings. -- J Occup Med. 1979 Dec;21(12):811-3. (C) 1979 The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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A questionnaire on beekeepers’ physical and mental health and working practice was included in
3 German beekeeping journals. A reference group also completed the questionnaire. The survey reached approximately 35,000 beekeepers.
Results: Altogether, 1053 questionnaires were returned. No significant differences were seen between the 2 groups. The mean number of
bee stings annually was 57.8 (median, 30; range, 0 – 1000). Overall, 46 (4.4 %) beekeepers reported systemic reactions to bee stings, 797
(75.6 %) had mild local reactions, and 196 (18.6 %) had no reactions. The study confi rmed several risk factors. These were, in descending
order of importance, symptoms of upper respiratory allergy while working on the hive, presence of other allergies, time spent as a beekeeper,
and more severe nonallergic reactions to bee stings in springtime. These factors identified beekeepers at risk of allergic reactions to bee
venom in 85.2 % of cases.
In this study we used the INKA-h questionnaire to assess
emotional instability (neuroticism or negative affectivity).
Our analysis showed that those beekeepers who were allergic
to bee venom were more emotionally unstable and nervous
and more likely to complain about pain and to suffer from
anger and fears.
Allergy to Bee Venom in Beekeepers in Germany
K Münstedt. Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2008; Vol. 18(2): 100-105
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