Re: Radon and Never Smokers

[AndrewsJP@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 6/26/2001 12:16:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 

nelsonjima@HOTMAIL.COM writes:



> Interesting article recently published.

>  http://www.epidem.com/article.asp?ISSN=1044-3983&VOL=12&ISS=4&PAGE=396

>  

>  

>  Residential Radon and Lung Cancer among Never-Smokers in Sweden

>  

>  Frédéric Lagarde1; Gösta Axelsson2; Lena Damber3; Hans Mellander4; Fredrik 

>  Nyberg1; Göran Pershagen1,5

>  

>  From the 1Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 

>  Stockholm;

>  2Department of Environmental Medicine, Göteborg University, Gothenburg;

>  3Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Ume;

>  4Swedish Radiation Protection Institute, Stockholm; and

>  5Department of Environmental Health, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, 

>  Sweden.

>  

>  EPIDEMIOLOGY 2001;12:396-404

>  

>  

>  

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> ---

>  

>  In this study, we attempted to reduce existing uncertainty about the 

>  relative risk of lung cancer from residential radon exposure among 

>  never-smokers. Comprehensive measurements of domestic radon were performed 

>  for 258 never-smoking lung cancer cases and 487 never-smoking controls 

from 

>  five Swedish case-control studies. With additional never-smokers from a 

>  previous case-control study of lung cancer and residential radon exposure 

in 

> 

>  Sweden, a total of 436 never-smoking lung cancer cases diagnosed in Sweden 

>  between 1980 and 1995 and 1,649 never-smoking controls were included. The 

>  relative risks (with 95% confidence intervals in parentheses) of lung 

cancer 

> 

>  in relation to categories of time-weighted average domestic radon 

>  concentration during three decades, delimited by cutpoints at 50, 80, and 

>  140 Bq m–3, were 1.08 (0.8–1.5), 1.18 (0.9–1.6), and 1.44 (1.0–2.1), 

>  respectively, with average radon concentrations below 50 Bq m–3 used as 

>  reference category and with adjustment for other risk factors. The data 

>  suggested that among never-smokers residential radon exposure may be more 

>  harmful for those exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. Overall, an 

excess 

> 

>  relative risk of 10% per 100 Bq m–3 average radon concentration was 

>  estimated, which is similar to the summary effect estimate for all 

subjects 

>  in the main residential radon studies to date.

>  

>  Keywords: case-control study; lung neoplasms; risk assessment; radon; 

>  never-smokers; cocarcinogenesis; tobacco smoke pollution; environmental 

>  exposures

>  

> 



Interesting.  Seems that the EPA action level of 4 pCi/L leads to a 15% (0% 

to 30% at 95% CL) excess relative risk for lung cancer based on these numbers.



John Andrews

Knoxville, Tennessee

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