First study of its kind finds a strong link between radon exposure and lung cancer diagnosis in Ireland
Article originally posted by the ERSI. Click here for the full article.
Living in an area with a high level of radon exposure increases the risk of lung cancer diagnosis, according to new ESRI research. The study finds that this is the case even after accounting for other risk factors that could influence an individual’s likelihood of a lung cancer diagnosis, such as smoking history, age and gender.
This research, which was commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency, examines data on a large sample of people aged 50+ in Ireland to see whether living in areas with greater risk of radon exposure is associated with higher odds of a lung cancer diagnosis. It takes into account other risk factors such as smoking and age in order to isolate the possible effect of radon.
The study linked data for over 5,000 individuals from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) with data on radon exposure risk provided by the Environmental Protection Agency. It is the first study to use such a large national sample and the first to take account of such a wide range of information about individuals.
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News coverage
Areas with high radon gas 'increase risk of lung cancer' - Irish Times
People living in areas of high radon exposure warned of lung cancer risk - The Irish Examiner
People living in areas of high radon exposure at higher risk of lung cancer - The Journal
First study of its kind finds a strong link between radon exposure and lung cancer - Breaking News