Puskin article

["Michael G. Stabin" <michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu>]

The following posted at the request of Don Miller. Mr. Miller is not a

listmember, but he can be contacted directly at the email address shown at

the end of the message.





> -----------------------------------------------

> After reading the Radsafe Archives, I was wondering if Dr.Cohen sent out

either the $1,000.00 or $2,500 reward for this in response to this paper

that more than meets the criteria (as can be found in the archives) for his

reward?

>

> Health Phys 2003 Apr;84(4):526-32 ..

>

> Smoking as a confounder in ecologic correlations of cancer mortality rates

with average county radon levels.

>

> Puskin JS.

>

> Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, U.S. EPA, Washington, DC 20460, USA.

puskin.jerome@epa.gov

>

> Cohen has reported a negative correlation between lung cancer mortality

and average radon levels by county. In this paper, the correlation of U.S.

county mortality rates for various types of cancers during the period

1970-1994 with Cohen's radon measurements is examined. In general,

quantitatively similar, strongly negative correlations are found for cancers

strongly linked to cigarette smoking, weaker negative correlations are found

for cancers moderately increased by smoking, whereas no such correlation is

found for cancers not linked to smoking. The results indicate that the

negative trend previously reported for lung cancer can be largely accounted

for by a negative correlation between smoking and radon levels across

counties. Hence, the observed ecological correlation provides no substantial

evidence for a protective effect of low level radon exposure.

>

> Don Miller

> radprot@mad.scientist.com

>





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