Radon and nonrespiratory mortality in the American cancer society cohort

Abstract

Radon is a known cause of human lung cancer. Previously, the authors observed a significant positive association between mean county-level residential radon concentrations and lung cancer mortality in the Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II), a large prospective study of nearly 1.2 million participants recruited in 1982 by the American Cancer Society. There was also a significant positive association with mortality from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Because it is unclear whether radon is associated with mortality from other malignant or nonmalignant disease, the authors examined the association between radon and nonrespiratory mortality in the CPS-II. Mean county-level residential radon concentrations (mean 53.5 (standard deviation: 38.0) Bq/m3) were linked to participants by their zip code at enrollment. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios and 95 confidence intervals for all-cause (excluding lung cancer and respiratory mortality) and cause-specific mortality associated with radon concentrations. A total of 811,961 participants in 2,754 counties were analyzed, including 265,477 deaths through 2006. There were no clear associations between radon and nonrespiratory mortality in the CPS-II. These findings suggest that residential radon is not associated with any other mortality beyond lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. © 2012 The Author.