CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 7Effects of Radiation ExposureRadiation Dose and ImagingRadioactivity and Radon Measurements

Adjustment of lifetime risks of space radiation-induced cancer by the healthy worker effect and cancer misclassification

Open access
Peterson, Leif E., Kovyrshina, Tatiana·2015·Heliyon
DOI 10.1016/j.heliyon.2015.e00048PMC PMC4945756
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Background. The healthy worker effect (HWE) is a source of bias in occupational studies of mortality among workers caused by use of comparative disease rates based on public data, which include mortality of unhealthy members of the public who are screened out of the workplace. For the US astronaut corp, the HWE is assumed to be strong due to the rigorous medical selection and surveillance. This investigation focused on the effect of correcting for HWE on projected lifetime risk estimates for radiation-induced cancer mortality and incidence. Methods. We performed radiation-induced cancer risk assessment using Poisson regression of cancer mortality and incidence rates among Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors. Regression coefficients were used for generating risk coefficients for the excess absolute, transfer, and excess relative models. Excess lifetime risks (ELR) for radiation exposure and baseline lifetime risks (BLR) were adjusted for the HWE using standardized mortality ratios (SMR) for aviators and nuclear workers who were occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation. We also adjusted lifetime risks by cancer mortality misclassification among atomic bomb survivors. Results. For all cancers combined ("Nonleukemia"), the effect of adjusting the all-cause hazard rate by the simulated quantiles of the all-cause SMR resulted in a mean difference (not percent difference) in ELR of 0.65% and mean difference of 4% for mortality BLR, and mean change of 6.2% in BLR for incidence. The effect of adjusting the excess (radiation-induced) cancer rate or baseline cancer hazard rate by simulated quantiles of cancer-specific SMRs resulted in a mean difference of [Formula: see text] in the all-cancer mortality ELR and mean difference of [Formula: see text] in the mortality BLR. Whereas for incidence, the effect of adjusting by cancer-specific SMRs resulted in a mean change of [Formula: see text] for the all-cancer BLR. Only cancer mortality risks were adjusted by simulated quantiles for misclassification, and results indicate a mean change of 1.1% for all-cancer mortality ELR, while the mean change in the all-cancer PC was approximately 4% for males and 6% for females. Conclusions. The typical life table approach for projecting lifetime risk of radiation-induced cancer mortality and incidence for astronauts and radiation workers can be improved by adjusting for HWE while simulating the uncertainty of input rates, input excess risk coefficients, and bias correction factors during multiple Monte Carlo realizations of the life table.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.heliyon.2015.e00048

Cites

1 of 1 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 57

  1. [1]NAS (National Academies of Science) 1967 Radiobiological factors in manned space flight Report of the Space Radiation Study Panel of the Life Sciences Committee, Space Science Board 1967 National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, National Academies Press Washington, USA
  2. [2]Tobias C.A. Todd P. Space Radiation Biology and Related Topics 1974 Academic Press New York, USA
  3. [3]Wilson J.W. Optimized shielding for space radiation protection Phys. Med. 17 S1 2001 67 71 11770540
  4. [6]Cucinotta F.A. Schimmerling W. Wilson J.W. Peterson L.E. Badhwar G.D. Saganti P.B. Dicello J.F. Space radiation cancer risks and uncertainties for Mars missions Radiat. Res. 156 5 2001 682 688 11604093
  5. [7]Cucinotta F.A. Schimmerling W. Wilson J.W. Peterson L.E. Saganti P.B. Dicello J.F. Uncertainties in estimates of the risks of late effects from space radiation Adv. Space Res. 34 6 2004 1383 1389 15881779
  6. [8]Chylack L.T. Jr. Feiveson A.H. Peterson L.E. Tung W.H. Wear M.L. Marak L.J. Hardy D.S. Chappell L.J. Cucinotta F.A. NASCA Report 2: longitudinal study of relationship of exposure to space radiation and risk of lens opacity Radiat. Res. 178 1 2012 25 32 22687051
  7. [9]Wang M. Hada M. Saha J. Sridharan D.M. Pluth J.M. Protons sensitize epithelial cells to mesenchymal transition PLoS ONE 7 7 2012 e41249 PMC3402537 22844446
  8. [10]Sridharan D.M. Chappell L.J. Whalen M.K. Cucinotta F.A. Pluth J.M. Defining the biological effectiveness of components of high-LET track structure Radiat. Res. 184 1 2015 105 119 26114329
  9. [12]Peterson L.E. Cucinotta F.A. Monte Carlo mixture model of lifetime cancer incidence risks for radiation on shuttle and international space station Mutat. Res. 430 2 1999 327 334 10631348
  10. [13]NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) 2005 NASA space flight human system standard, vol. 1: crew health NASA-STD-3001 (Approved 03-05-2007) 2005 NASA Washington, USA
  11. [16]NAS 2012 Technical evaluation of the NASA model for cancer risk to astronauts due to space radiation Committee for Evaluation of Space Radiation Cancer Risk Model, Space Studies Board, Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies 2012 National Academies Press Washington, USA 24600746
  12. [18]Hyatt K.H. Johnson P.C. Hoffler G.W. Rambaut P.C. Rummel J.A. Hulley S.B. Vogel J.M. Huntoon C. Spears C.P. Effect of potassium depletion in normal males: an Apollo 15 simulation Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 46 1 1975 11 15 1115689
  13. [19]Kimzey S.L. Johnson P.C. Ritzman S.E. Mengel C.E. Hematology and immunology studies: the second manned Skylab mission Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 47 4 1976 383 390 1275825
  14. [20]McMichael A.J. Standardized mortality ratios and the healthy worker effect: scratching beneath the surface J. Occup. Med. 18 3 1976 165 168 1255276
  15. [21]Wen C.P. Tsai S.P. Gibson R.L. Anatomy of the healthy worker effect: a critical review J. Occup. Med. 24 4 1983 283 289 6854417
  16. [22]Li C.-Y. Sung F.-C. A review of the healthy worker effect in occupational epidemiology Occup. Med. 49 4 1999 225 229 10474913
  17. [23]Arrighi H.M. Hartz-Picciotto I. Controlling the healthy worker survival effect: an example of arsenic exposure and respiratory cancer Occup. Environ. Med. 53 1996 455 462 8704869 PMC1128513
  18. [24]Reynolds R.J. Day S.M. Mortality among US astronauts: 1980–2009 Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 81 11 2010 1024 1027 21043299
  19. [25]Hammer G.P. Auven A. De Stavola B.L. Mortality from cancer and other causes in commercial airline crews: a joint analysis of cohorts from 10 countries Occup. Environ. Med. 71 5 2014 313 322 24389960
  20. [26]Zeeb H. Blettner M. Langner I. Hammer G.P. Mortality from cancer and other causes among airline cabin attendants in Europe: a collaborative cohort study in eight countries Am. J. Epidemiol. 158 1 2003 35 46 12835285
  21. [27]Blettener M. Zeeb H. Auvinen A. Ballard T.J. Caldora M. Mortality from cancer and other causes among male airline cockpit crew in Europe Int. J. Cancer 106 6 2003 946 952 12918075
  22. [28]Band P.R. Le N.D. Fang R. Deschamps M. Coldman A.J. Gallagher R.P. Moody J. Cohort study of air Canada pilots: mortality, cancer incidence, and leukemia risk Am. J. Epidemiol. 143 2 1996 137 143 8546114
  23. [29]Blettener M. Zeeb H. Langner I. Hammer G.P. Schlafft T. Mortality from cancer and other causes among airline cabin attendants in Germany, 1960–1997 Am. J. Epidemiol. 156 6 2002 556 565 12226003
  24. [30]De Stavola B.L. Pizzi C. Clemens F. Evans S.A. Evans A.D. Silva I.S. Cause-specific mortality in professional flight crew and air traffic control officers: findings from two UK population-based cohorts of over 20,000 subjects Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health 85 3 2012 283 293 21674252
  25. [31]Zeeb H. Hammer G.P. Langner I. Schafft T. Bennack S. Blettner M. Cancer mortality among German aircrew: second follow-up Radiat. Environ. Biophys. 49 2 2010 187 194 19841929
  26. [32]Zeeb H. Blettner M. Hammer G.P. Langner I. Cohort mortality study of German cockpit crew, 1960–1997 Epidemiology 13 6 2002 693 699 12410011
  27. [33]Paridou A. Velonakis E. Langner I. Zeeb H. Blettener M. Tzonou A. Mortality among pilots and cabin crew in Greece, 1960–1997 Int. J. Epidemiol. 32 2 2003 244 247 12714544
  28. [34]Gillies M. Haylock R. The cancer mortality and incidence experience of workers at British nuclear fuels plc, 1946–2005 J. Radiol. Prot. 34 3 2014 595 623 25050698
  29. [35]Canu I.G. Cardis E. Metz-Flamant C. Caer-Lorho S. Auriol B. Wild P. Laurier D. Tirmarche M. French cohort of the uranium processing workers: mortality pattern after 30-year follow-up Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health 83 3 2010 301 308 19701767
  30. [36]Howe G.R. Zablotskaya L.B. Fix J.J. Egel J. Buchanan J. Analysis of the mortality experience amongst U.S. nuclear power industry workers after chronic low-dose exposure to ionizing radiation Radiat. Res. 162 5 2004 517 526 15624306
  31. [37]Merzenichd H. Hammer G.P. Troltzsch K. Ruecker K. Buncke J. Fehringer F. Blettener M. Mortality risk in a historical cohort of nuclear power plant workers in Germany: results from a second follow-up Radiat. Environ. Biophys. 53 2 2014 405 416 24553629
  32. [38]Samson E. Telle-Lamberton M. Caer-Lorho S. Bard D. Giraud J.-M. Metz-Flamant C. Neron M.-O. Quesne B. Acker A. Tirmarche M. Hill C. Cancer mortality among two different populations of French nuclear workers Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health 84 6 2011 627 634 21479948
  33. [39]Beral V. Inskip H. Fraser P. Booth M. Coleman D. Rose G. Mortality of employees of the United Kingdom atomic energy authority, 1946–1979 Br. Med. J. 291 6493 1985 440 447 3926232 PMC1416316
  34. [40]Guerin S. Richar G. Biau A. Lebre S. Crescini D. Haddy N. Guldner L. Paoletti C. Hill C. Vathaire F. Cancer mortality among French nuclear contract workers Am. J. Ind. Med. 52 12 2009 916 925 19937949
  35. [41]Beral V. Fraser P. Carpenter L. Booth M. Brown A. Rose G. Mortality of employees of the atomic weapons establishment, 1951–82 Br. Med. J. 297 6651 1988 757 770 3142540 PMC1834407
  36. [42]Boice J.D. Cohen S.S. Mumma M.T. Ellis E.D. Cragle D.L. Echerman K.F. Wallace P.W. Chadda B. Sonderman J.S. Wiggs L.D. Richter B.S. Leggett R.W. Mortality among mound workers exposed to Polonium-210 and other sources of radiation, 1944–1979 Radiat. Res. 81 2 2014 208 228 24527690
  37. [43]Cardis E. Vrijheid M. Blettener M. Gilbert E.S. Hakama M. Hill C. The 15-country collaborative study of cancer risk among radiation workers in the nuclear industry: estimates of radiation-related cancer risks Radiat. Res. 167 4 2007 396 416 17388693
  38. [44]Schubauer-Berigan M.K. Daniels R.D. Bertke S.J. Tseng C.-Y. Richardson D.B. Cancer mortality through 2005 among a pooled cohort of U.S. nuclear workers exposed to external ionizing radiation Radiat. Res. 183 6 2015 620 631 26010709
  39. [45]Rahu K. Auvinen A. Hakulinen T. Tekkel M. Inskip P.D. Bromet E.J. Boice J.D. Rahu M. Chernobyl cleanup workers from Estonia: follow-up for cancer incidence and mortality J. Radiol. Prot. 33 2 2013 395 411 23532116 PMC3720997
  40. [46]Canu I.G. Ellis E.D. Tirmarche M. Cancer risk in nuclear workers occupationally exposed to uranium-emphasis on internal exposure Health Phys. 94 2008 1 17 18091147
  41. [47]Peterson L.E. Pepper L.J. Hamm P.B. Gilbert S.L. Longitudinal study of astronaut health: mortality in the years 1959–1991 Radiat. Res. 133 2 1993 257 264 8438068
  42. [48]Hamm P.B. Billica R.D. Johnson G.S. Wear M.L. Pool S.L. Risk of cancer mortality among the longitudinal study of astronaut health (LSAH) participants Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 69 2 1998 142 144 9491253
  43. [51]Schull W.J. Effects of Atomic Radiation: A Half-Century of Studies from Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1995 John Wiley and Sons New York, USA
  44. [52]Peterson L.E. Abrahamson S. Effects of Ionizing Radiation: Atomic Bomb Survivors and Their Children (1945–1995) 1998 Joseph Henry Press Washington, USA
  45. [54]Preston D.L. Ron E. Tokuoka S. Funamoto S. Nishi N. Soda M. Mabuchib K. Kodama K. Solid cancer incidence in atomic bomb survivors (1958–1998) Radiat. Res. 168 1 2007 1 61 17722996
  46. [55]Ozasa K. Shimizu Y. Suyama A. Kasagi F. Soda M. Grant E.J. Sakata R. Sugiyama H. Kodama K. Studies of mortality of atomic bomb survivors, Report 14, 1950–2003: an overview of cancer and noncancer diseases Radiat. Res. 177 2012 229 243 22171960
  47. [56]Heo T.Y. The comparison of eigensystem techniques for measuring multicollinearity in multivariate normal data Master's Thesis 1987 Dept. of Statistics, Brigham and Young University Provo, USA
  48. [57]Kennedy J. Eberhart R.C. Particle swarm optimization Proceedings of IEEE 1995 International Conference on Neural Networks 1995 IEEE Press Piscataway, USA 1942 1948
  49. [58]Peterson L.E. Classification Analysis of DNA Microarrays 2013 John Wiley and Sons New York, USA
  50. [60]Elandt-Johnson R.C. Johnson N.L. Theory of competing causes: probabilistic approach, Chap. 9 Survival Models and Data Analysis 1980 Jon Wiley and Sons New York, USA
  51. [61]Chiang C.L. Some stochastic models of growth — pure death process, Chap. 8 An Introduction to Stochastic Processes and Their Applications 1968 Krieger Press Huntington, USA
  52. [62]Chiang C.L. The life table and its construction — the complete life table, Chap. 6 The Life Table and Its Application 1984 Krieger Press Malabar, USA
  53. [68]Thomas D.C. Darby S. Fagnani F. Hubert P. Vaeth M. Weiss K. Definition and estimation of lifetime detriment from radiation exposure: principles and methods Health Phys. 63 3 1992 259 272 1644562
  54. [70]Bunger B.B. Cook J.R. Barrick M.K. Life table methodology for evaluating radiation risk: an application based on occupational exposures Health Phys. 40 4 1981 439 455 7228696
  55. [71]Gail M. Measuring the benefit of reduced exposure to environmental carcinogens J. Chron. Dis. 28 3 1975 135 147 1123420
  56. [72]Kahn H. Sempos C.T. Follow-up studies: person-years, Chap. 8 Statistical Methods in Epidemiology 1989 Oxford Press New York, USA
  57. [73]Kocher D.C. Apostoaei A.I. Henshaw R.W. Hoffman F.O. Schubauer-Berigan M.K. Stancescu D.O. Thomas B.A. Trabalka J.R. Gilbert E.S. Land C.E. Interactive RadioEpidemiological Program (IREP): a web-based tool for estimating probability of causation/assigned share of radiogenic cancers Health Phys. 95 1 2008 119 147 18545036 PMC4018571

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Peterson, L. E., & Kovyrshina, T.
Affiliations
Houston Methodist (US)
Corresponding author
Peterson, Leif E.
ORCID
Venue
Heliyon
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-12
Volume
1
Issue
4
Pages
e00048
ISSN
2405-8440 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.heliyon.2015.e00048
PMC
PMC4945756
OpenAlex
W2214112315
Cited by
7
References
1
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1
FWCI
0.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Heliyon (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
  • U.S. Department of Energy (DE-HS0000031)
  • National Academy of Sciences
  • NASA (NNX14AR32A)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Effects of Radiation Exposure
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Radiation Dose and Imaging
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Radiological and Ultrasound Technology › Radioactivity and Radon Measurements
Keywords
healthy worker effect, lifetime cancer risk, radiation-induced cancer, space radiation, astronauts, occupational radiation exposure, Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors, standardized mortality ratio, excess lifetime risk, cancer mortality, cancer incidence

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review