Victor E. Archer

Indoor Radon and Lung Cancer Risk in Connecticut and Utah

Radon is a well-established cause of lung cancer in miners. Residents of homes with high levels of radon are potentially also at risk. Although most individual studies of indoor radon have failed to demonstrate significant risks, results have generally been consistent with estimates from studies of miners. We studied 1474 incident lung cancer cases aged 40–79 yr in Connecticut, Utah, and southern Idaho. Population controls (n = 1811) were identified by random telephone screening and from lists of Medicare recipients, and were selected to be similar to cases on age, gender, and smoking 10 yr before diagnosis/interview using randomized recruitment. Complete residential histories and information on known lung cancer risk factors were obtained by in-person and telephone interviews. Radon was measured on multiple levels of past and current homes using 12-mo alpha-track etch detectors. Missing data were imputed using mean radon concentrations for informative subgroups of controls. Average radon exposures were lower than anticipated, with median values of 23 Bq/m3 in Connecticut and 45 Bq/m3 in Utah/southern Idaho. Overall, there was little association between time-weighted average radon exposures 5 to 25 yr prior to diagnosis/interview and lung cancer risk. The excess relative risk (ERR) associated with a 100-Bq/m3 increase in radon level was 0.002 (95% CI −0.21, 0.21) in the overall population, 0.134 (95% CI −0.23, 0.50) in Connecticut, and −0.112 (95% CI −0.34, 0.11) in Utah/Idaho. ERRs were higher for some subgroups less prone to misclassification, but there was no group with a statistically significant linear increase in risk. While results were consistent with the estimates from studies of miners, this study provides no evidence of an increased risk for lung cancer at the exposure levels observed. We are grateful to Drs. Stuart Shalat and Keith Schiager, who made early contributions to the design and implementation of this study, and to Patty Blanton for expert data management. Lynne Rothney-Kozlak and Jan A. J. Stolwijk were formerly affiliated with Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Does dietary sugar and fat influence longevity

Simultaneous consideration of the influence of the different types of carbohydrates and fats in human diets on mortality rates (especially the diseases of aging), and the probable retardation of such diseases by caloric restriction (CR) leads to the hypothesis that restriction of foods with a high glycemic index and saturated or hydrogenated fats would avoid or delay many diseases of aging and might result in life extension. Many of the health benefits of CR might thereby be available to humans without the side effects or unacceptability of semi-starvation diets.

Association of nuclear fallout with leukemia in the United States

The world population has been exposed to low levels of fission products from nuclear testing. Has this had any health effects? Six different epidemiological associations are demonstrated between leukemia and nuclear fallout in the general population. The strongest association is with acute and myeloid types of leukemia among children. They peaked at approximately 5.5 yr (among 5-9 yr olds) after the peaks in fallout. The entire United States population exhibited an increasing leukemia rate during and for several years after the open air nuclear testing and fell sharply thereafter. Regional differences in leukemia rates correspond to a composite exposure index that used 90Sr concentrations in food, cows milk, and human bone. The calculated leukemia risk per rad for children was similar to that calculated for Japanese A-bomb children survivors.

Cooking methods, carcinogens, and diet‐cancer studies

A neglect of natural, preservative, and cooking-induced carcinogens or mutagens in food, along with a neglect of dietary patterns during the first portion of a persons lifetime, may be responsible for the many conflicting epidemiological reports dealing with dietary factors and cancer. From animal and occupational studies, we know that the two most important factors in the study of cancer are the dose of carcinogen and allowance for a long latent period. Most of the recent nutrition and cancer studies have ignored both factors. Some bile acids or other endogenous factors may be influenced by diet and may act as cancer-promoting agents, but promoting agents cannot be studied in the absence of knowledge about, or control of, the cancer-initiating events with which they must interact.

Health concerns in uranium mining and milling

Mortality of uranium miners from both lung cancer and other respiratory diseases is strongly dependent on exposure to radon daughters, cigarette smoking and height. Lung cancer among 15 different mining groups (uranium, iron, lead, zinc) was analyzed to determine what factors influence incidence and the induction-latent period. At low exposure or exposure rates, alpha radiation is more efficient in inducing lung cancer, producing an upward convex exposure-response curve. The induction-latent period is shortened by increased age at start of mining, by cigarette smoking and by high exposure rates. For a follow-up period of 20 to 25 years, the incidence increases with age at start of mining, with magnitude of exposure and with amount of cigarette smoking. Instead of extrapolating downward from high exposures to estimate risk at low levels, it is suggested that it might be more appropriate to use cancer rates associated with background radiation as the lowest point on the exposure-response curve. Although health risks are much greater in uranium mines than mills, there is some health risk in the mills from long-lived radioactive materials.

Latitudinal variation of digestive tract cancers in the us and China

Latitude influences the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables (which are associated with cancer protection) and the use of food preservation methods (which are associated with increased cancer). Such dietary differences might be reflected in the frequency of death from cancer of the digestive tract. Female mortality rates for states and provinces of the US and China, both of which cover a wide latitude range, were chosen to investigate latitude- and time-related changes. Mortality for cancer of the stomach, liver, and rectum did increase with latitude in both nations, which is consistent with the hypothesis. Exceptions were cancer of the colon and esophagus; these cancers had a variable association with latitude and did not decline markedly in the US by 1970-1979 as did mortality rates from cancer of the other digestive tract sites. Increased refrigeration and improved transportation, both of which result in increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, and decreased use of older food preservation methods may be responsible for the US decline in mortality rates from stomach, liver, and rectal cancers.

A Review of Radon in Homes: Health Effects, Measurement, Control, and Public Policy

Abstract The degree of hazard presented by radon in homes and what should be done about it is a hotly debated issue. Radon is clearly a hazard in uranium mines. Several prestigious, scientific, national and international bodies have reviewed the situation in homes and declared that such radon is a serious hazard which merits action. Radon enters homes primarily through cracks in basement walls and floors, being pulled in by decreased air pressure near the bottom of the house which results from the heating of air and the chimney effect of houses. The main corrective methods are sealing of cracks and holes in basement floors and walls and/or installing subslab ventilation systems. In the average house, the risk from radon is similar to that from passive smoking; the risk from higher than average radon levels ranges upward to more than that of the heaviest smokers. The level of radon in houses is influenced by geologic, construction, and lifestyle factors. The major, home radon, lung cancer studies reported ...