Mortality of a cohort of French uranium miners exposed to relatively low radon concentrations

Tirmarche, M.; Raphalen, A.; Allin, F.; Chameaud, J.; Bredon, P.

doi:10.1038/bjc.1993.200

Cited by 82 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Previous analyses of the same cohort over a shorter follow-up period yielded an SMR for diseases of the circulatory system that was 0.88 of that of the general Newfoundland population (12). This value is consistent with that of other studies of miners exposed to radon progeny (9,(15)(16)). An elevated SMR was found for a cohort of sulfide ore miners exposed to radon progeny (17).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

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Coronary heart disease mortality among Newfoundland fluorspar miners

Villeneuve

Morrison²

1997

Scand J Work Environ Health

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Villeneuve PJ, Morrison HI. Coronary heart disease mortality among Newfoundland fluorspar miners. Scand J Work Environ Health 1 997;23(2):221-6. ObjectivesThe association between cumulative radon exposure and coronary heart disease mortality was studied in a retrospective cohort investigation of Newfoundland fluorspar miners. Methods Multivariate Poisson regression techniques were used to estimate relative risks of coronary heart disease mortality by level of radon exposure. Relative risks (RR) were adjusted by attained age, calendar period, duration of exposure, and smoking status. Death from coronary heart disease was the outcome measure of interest and was identified by record linkage to the Canadian Mortality Database. Results An elevated risk for mortality from coronary heart disease was observed among miners with a cumulative radon exposure exceeding 1000 working-level months [RR 1.5, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.77-2.751, The association between radon exposure and coronary heart disease was not statistically significant according to a test for trend across exposure categories (P = 0.09). The smokers were 1.8 times more likely than the nonsmokers to die from coronary heart disease (95% CI 1 .I-2.8). C O~C~U S~O~S These results suggest a positive association between coronary heart disease and radon exposure. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the inability to control for the confounding influence of other known risk factors of coronary heart disease.Key terms cohort study, healthy worker effect, occupational exposure, radon.It has been postulated that exposure to radiation may lead to the premature development of atherosclerosis and consequently to an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Evidence for this hypothesis comes from animal experiments (I), excess CHD deaths among women treated with radiation for breast cancer (2), and clinical reports of patients treated with radiotherapy who then developed premature atherosclerosis (3). An autopsy study which found increased alpha radiation in atherosclerotic plaques (4) and the monoclonal theory of atherosclerosis (5) provide further evidence for radiation being an etiologic factor for CHD.The causal relationship between radiation exposure and cancer of the bronchus and lung has long been established (6). An excess risk of mortality from tuberculosis and other nonmalignant respiratory diseases has also been observed in several mining cohorts exposed to radon progeny (6). It is thought that most of these excess deaths are a consequence of exposure to silica (6). Excesses of cancers of the stomach (7-9), skin (10-1 I), buccal cavity, and pharynx (12) have also been observed in some radiation-exposed mining populations. However, a recent collaborative analysis of 11 mining cohorts suggest that the risk for cancers (other than lung) resulting from exposures to high concentrations of radon are negligible (13). Other possible adverse effects of radon exposure include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, reproductive out...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Some of these studies have reported a decreased standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for CHD among miners when compared with that of the general population (9,(15)(16). Conversely, an elevated SMR for CHD was found for a for several causes of death and may therefore mask real effects (18).…”

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confidence: 99%

Coronary heart disease mortality among Newfoundland fluorspar miners

Villeneuve

Morrison²

1997

Scand J Work Environ Health

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“…These results confirmed those of previous analyses of this cohort (26). Similarly, other studies of radon-exposed miners have found no excess risk of CSD mortality (17,33,40).…”

Section: Mortality From Circulatory System Diseasessupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Previous publications have described the development of a French cohort of uranium miners (26,34,35). The cohort comprised 5086 individuals.…”

Section: Cohort Description and Follow-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Four studies reported a decrease (23,(25)(26)(27) in cardiovascular mortality among miners exposed to radon compared with the general population, while one study found similar risk (17). Conversely, elevated mortality from coronary heart disease and nonrheumatic circulatory diseases was found in a cohort of sulphide-ore miners exposed to radon (28) and in a Czech cohort of uranium miners (29).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Mortality from circulatory system diseases and low-level radon exposure in the French cohort study of uranium miners, 1946–1999

Nusinovici¹,

Vacquier²,

Leuraud³

et al. 2010

Scand J Work Environ Health

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Review of occupational lung carcinogens

Steenland

Loomis²,

Shy³

et al. 1996

Am. J. Ind. Med.

167

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Lung cancer is the most common malignancy in the United States and is ranked second only to bladder cancer in the proportion of cases thought to be due to occupational exposures. We review the epidemiology of occupational lung cancer, focusing on agents identified as pulmonary carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. We derive estimates of overall relative risks from the major studies of these lung carcinogens, and we also provide estimates of the number of exposed workers. Using our data as well as estimates from other authors, we estimate that approximately 9,000–10,000 men and 900–1,900 women develop lung cancer annually in the United States due to past exposure to occupational carcinogens. More than half of these lung cancers are due to asbestos. This estimate is likely conservative, in that we have restricted our analysis to confirmed lung carcinogens and have ignored occupations with documented excess risk but for which the specific agents are unknown. Also, our estimate of the proportion of workers exposed in the past is probably too low. Our estimate should be viewed only as a broad approximation. Nevertheless, it is in line with other estimates by authors using different methods. The current number of cases estimated to be due to occupational exposures reflects past high exposures and is likely to drop in the future, unless other occupational lung carcinogens are confirmed or new carcinogens are introduced into the workplace. (This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.) © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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Mortality of a cohort of French uranium miners exposed to relatively low radon concentrations

Abstract: Summary A cohort mortality study has been performed on French uranium miners having experienced more than 2 years of underground mining, with first radon exposure between 1946 and 1972

Cited by 82 publications

References 12 publications

Coronary heart disease mortality among Newfoundland fluorspar miners

Coronary heart disease mortality among Newfoundland fluorspar miners

Mortality from circulatory system diseases and low-level radon exposure in the French cohort study of uranium miners, 1946–1999

Review of occupational lung carcinogens

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