Cohort study of occupational cosmic radiation dose and cancer mortality in German aircrew, 1960-2014.
ObjectivesTo determine cancer mortality compared with the general population and to examine dose-response relationships between cumulative occupational radiation dose and specific cancer outcomes in the German aircrew cohort.MethodsFor a cohort of 26 846 aircrew personnel, standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated. Dose-response analyses were carried out using Poisson regression to assess dose-related cancer risks for the period 1960–2014. Exposure assessment comprises recently available dose register data for all cohort members and newly estimated retrospective cabin crew doses for 1960–2003.ResultsSMR for all-cause, specific cancer groups and most individual cancers were reduced…
Estimated radiation exposure of German commercial airline cabin crew in the years 1960-2003 modeled using dose registry data for 2004-2015.
Exposure to ionizing radiation of cosmic origin is an occupational risk factor in commercial aircrew. In a historic cohort of 26,774 German aircrew, radiation exposure was previously estimated only for cockpit crew using a job-exposure matrix (JEM). Here, a new method for retrospectively estimating cabin crew dose is developed. The German Federal Radiation Registry (SSR) documents individual monthly effective doses for all aircrew. SSR-provided doses on 12,941 aircrew from 2004 to 2015 were used to model cabin crew dose as a function of age, sex, job category, solar activity, and male pilots' dose; the mean annual effective dose was 2.25 mSv (range 0.01–6.39 mSv). In addition to an inverse …