Cancer incidence among Norwegian airline cabin attendants

Background Cabin crews are exposed to cosmic radiation at work and this may increase their incidence of radiation-induced cancers. Former studies indicate an increased risk of breast cancer. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed. The cohort was established from the files of the Civil Av...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of epidemiology 2001-08, Vol.30 (4), p.825-830
Main Authors: Haldorsen, Tor, Reitan, Jon B, Tveten, Ulf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aircraft
Aviation - statistics & numerical data
Cabin attendants
cancer
Confounding Factors (Epidemiology)
cosmic radiation
Cosmic Radiation - adverse effects
Female
Humans
Incidence
Life Style
Male
Middle Aged
Neoplasms - epidemiology
Neoplasms - etiology
Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced - epidemiology
Norway - epidemiology
Occupational Diseases - epidemiology
Occupational Diseases - etiology
Population Surveillance
Registries
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
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Summary:Background Cabin crews are exposed to cosmic radiation at work and this may increase their incidence of radiation-induced cancers. Former studies indicate an increased risk of breast cancer. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed. The cohort was established from the files of the Civil Aviation Administration and included people with a valid licence as a cabin attendant between 1950 and 1994. The cohort was linked to the Cancer Registry of Norway. Observed number of cases was compared with expected, based on national rates. Breast cancer incidence was analysed, adjusting for individual fertility variables. Results A group of 3693 cabin attendants were followed over 72 804 person-years. Among the women, 38 cases of breast cancer were observed (standardized incidence ratio (SIR) = 1.1, 95% CI : 0.8–1.5). Among men excess risks were found for cancers in the upper respiratory and gastric tract (SIR = 6.0, 95% CI : 2.7–11.4) and cancer of the liver (two cases, SIR = 10.8, 95% CI : 1.3–39.2). For both sexes elevated risks were found for malignant melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer; for men these were SIR = 2.9 (95% CI : 1.1–6.4) and SIR = 9.9 (95% CI : 4.5–18.8) respectively, while for women these were SIR = 1.7 (95% CI : 1.0–2.7) and SIR = 2.9 (95% CI : 1.0–6.9) respectively. For no cancer site was a significant decreased risk found. Conclusions An increased risk of radiation-induced cancers was not observed. The excess risks of some other cancers are more probably explained by factors related to lifestyle.
ISSN:0300-5771
1464-3685
DOI:10.1093/ije/30.4.825