학술논문

Residential Radon and Risk of Lung Cancer in Eastern Germany
Document Type
research-article
Source
Epidemiology, 2003 Sep 01. 14(5), 559-568.
Subject
Case-control study
Lung neoplasm
Radon
Tobacco smoke
Radon
Lung neoplasms
Smoking cessation
Cigarette smoking
Epidemiology
Histology
Tobacco smoking
Small cell lung carcinoma
Bedrooms
Living rooms
Language
English
ISSN
10443983
Abstract
Background: There is suggestive evidence that residential radon increases lung cancer risk. To elucidate this association further, we conducted a case-control study in Thuringia and Saxony in Eastern Germany during 1990-1997. Methods: Histologically confirmed lung cancer patients from hospitals and a random sample of population controls matched on age, sex and geographical area were personally interviewed with respect to residential history, smoking, and other risk factors. One-year radon measurements were performed in houses occupied during the 5-35 years prior to the interview. The final analysis included a total of 1,192 cases and 1,640 controls. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by logistic regression. Results: Measurements covered on average 72% of the exposure time window, with mean radon concentrations of $76\ {\rm Bq}/{\rm m}^{3}$ among the cases and $74\ {\rm Bq}/{\rm m}^{3}$ among the controls. The smoking- and asbestos-adjusted ORs for categories of radon (50-80, 80-140 and $>140\ {\rm Bq}/{\rm m}^{\ast 3}$, compared with $0-50\ {\rm Bq}/{\rm m}^{3}$ ) were 0.95 (CI = 0.77 to 1.18), 1.13 (CI = 0.86 to 1.50) and 1.30 (CI = 0.88 to 1.93). The excess relative risk per 100 Bq/mł was 0.08 (CI = -0.03 to 0.20) for all subjects and 0.09 (CI = -0.06 to 0.27) for subjects with complete measurements for all 30 years. Conclusions: Our data indicate a small increase in lung cancer risk as a result of residential radon that is consistent with the findings of previous indoor radon and miner studies.