Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40579177›Full record

ArticleOccupational and environmental medicine2025

Updated cancer mortality among uranium miners on the Colorado Plateau: interactions of radon exposure with smoking and temporal factors.

Mary K Schubauer-Berigan, Stephen J Bertke, Kaitlin Kelly-Reif, Robert D Daniels

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Occupational and environmental medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Mary K Schubauer-BeriganEvidence Synthesis and Classification Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France beriganm@iarc.who.int.ORCID 0000-0002-5175-924X
Stephen J BertkeDivision of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3047-3816
Kaitlin Kelly-ReifDivision of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6020-2646
Robert D DanielsDivision of Science Integration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3915-7991

Funding

Intramural CDC HHS CC999999World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesUnderstanding of long-term lung cancer risks from radon decay products (RDP) exposure derives largely from studies of uranium miners. We aimed to compare mortality for lung and other cancers to the general population, to estimate excess absolute rate (EAR) and excess relative rate (ERR) from RDP exposure, and to estimate the joint effects of RDP and cigarette smoking in extended follow-up of a cohort of 4137 male uranium miners from the US Colorado Plateau.

methodsWe extended mortality follow-up through 2016 and re-evaluated RDP exposure against original work history and mine records. We calculated standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) compared with a regional population, evaluated EAR of lung cancer mortality using standardised rate ratios and modelled ERR using Cox proportional hazards regression. We evaluated interactions of RDP with smoking pack-years, attained age (AA) and time-since-exposure (TSE).

resultsThere were 695 lung cancer deaths, including 146 among never-smokers and light smokers. The overall SMR was >4; the EAR per unit RDP exposure increased substantially with smoking pack-years and decades of follow-up. Lung cancer ERR decreased with AA and TSE. ERR attenuation at high exposure rates was smaller than observed elsewhere. Joint effects of RDP and smoking were submultiplicative but greater-than-additive, appearing closer to multiplicative at lower RDP exposures. Pancreas was the only other site showing a significantly positive ERR per unit exposure.

conclusionsExcess rates of lung cancer mortality persist throughout the lifespan among this cohort of uranium miners. Information about RDP-smoking interactions is of interest for occupational and general population exposure.

Indexed as

Lung NeoplasmsMinersMiningNeoplasms, Radiation-InducedOccupational DiseasesOccupational ExposureRadonSmokingUraniumAdultAgedColoradoHumansMaleMiddle AgedTime FactorsRadonUraniumEpidemiologyLung Diseases, InterstitialMinersOccupational HealthRadon

Identifiers

PMID40579177
PMCPMC12309519

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.