Biomaterial Database

Background radiation and cancer mortality in Bavaria: an ecological analysis. 2006

Alfred Körblein, and Wolfgang Hoffmann

Munich Environmental Institute. alfred.koerblein@gmx.de

The authors investigated a possible association between background gamma radiation (BGR) and cancer and infant mortality rates. In an in-country ecological study, they performed a population-weighted linear regression of cancer (infant) mortality rates on BGR, adjusted for unemployment rate and population density. Crude cancer rates showed a highly significant increase with BGR: 38 excess cases per 100,000 person-years per millisievert/year (p < .0001). After adjusting for unemployment rate and population density, the authors found that the excess absolute risk reduced to 23.6 cases per 100,000 person-years per mSv/year (p = .0014). The corresponding excess relative risk was 10.2% (95% confidence interval = 3.9-16.7) per mSv/year. The excess relative risk for infant mortality rates was 24% (95% confidence interval = 9-42) per mSv/year. The cancer risk derived from this ecological study is 0.24/Sv, which compares with an International Commission on Radiological Protection value of 0.05/Sv. However, because they are based on highly aggregated data, the results should be interpreted with caution.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007226	Infant Mortality	Postnatal deaths from BIRTH to 365 days after birth in a given population. Postneonatal mortality represents deaths between 28 days and 365 days after birth (as defined by National Center for Health Statistics). Neonatal mortality represents deaths from birth to 27 days after birth.	Neonatal Mortality,Mortality, Infant,Postneonatal Mortality,Infant Mortalities,Mortalities, Infant,Mortalities, Neonatal,Mortalities, Postneonatal,Mortality, Neonatal,Mortality, Postneonatal,Neonatal Mortalities,Postneonatal Mortalities
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D009381	Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced	Tumors, cancer or other neoplasms produced by exposure to ionizing or non-ionizing radiation.	Radiation-Induced Cancer,Cancer, Radiation-Induced,Radiation-Induced Neoplasms,Cancer, Radiation Induced,Cancers, Radiation-Induced,Neoplasm, Radiation-Induced,Neoplasms, Radiation Induced,Radiation Induced Cancer,Radiation Induced Neoplasms,Radiation-Induced Cancers,Radiation-Induced Neoplasm
D004463	Ecology	The branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their ENVIRONMENT, especially as manifested by natural cycles and rhythms, community development and structure, interactions between different kinds of organisms, geographic distributions, and population alterations. (Webster's, 3d ed)	Bionomics,Ecologies
D005720	Gamma Rays	Penetrating, high-energy electromagnetic radiation emitted from atomic nuclei during NUCLEAR DECAY. The range of wavelengths of emitted radiation is between 0.1 - 100 pm which overlaps the shorter, more energetic hard X-RAYS wavelengths. The distinction between gamma rays and X-rays is based on their radiation source.	Gamma Wave,Gamma Radiation,Nuclear X-Rays,Radiation, Gamma,X-Rays, Nuclear,Gamma Radiations,Gamma Ray,Gamma Waves,Nuclear X Rays,Nuclear X-Ray,Ray, Gamma,Wave, Gamma,Waves, Gamma,X Rays, Nuclear,X-Ray, Nuclear
D005858	Germany	A country in central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark. The capital is Berlin.
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001417	Background Radiation	Radiation from sources other than the source of interest. It is due to cosmic rays and natural radioactivity in the environment.	Natural Radiation,Radiation, Background,Radiation, Natural,Background Radiations,Natural Radiations,Radiations, Background,Radiations, Natural
D012306	Risk	The probability that an event will occur. It encompasses a variety of measures of the probability of a generally unfavorable outcome.	Relative Risk,Relative Risks,Risk, Relative,Risks,Risks, Relative