TLDR
People who work on airplanes are exposed to more space radiation than most others, and some types of cancer are more common in these workers, but it's still unclear if the radiation is the main cause because many other factors could also play a role.
Summary
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1 Study Aim
The review aims to summarize and analyze all available research up to 2021 on cancer risks in airline crew members, focusing on their exposure to cosmic ionizing radiation (CIR), which comes from space and the sun. The authors seek to clarify which cancers are more common in aircrew, explore whether CIR is responsible, and highlight the difficulties in separating the effects of CIR from other job-related exposures. The review also identifies gaps and challenges in current research to guide future studies and improve health protections for aircrew and frequent flyers. The review looks at whether working on airplanes increases cancer risk because of space radiation, and what makes it hard to study this.
2 Study Design
This is a comprehensive literature review that examines all epidemiological studies published through 2021 about cancer in airline crew exposed to cosmic ionizing radiation (CIR). The authors focus on studies that look at cancer rates and deaths among pilots and flight attendants, using both direct measurements and estimates of CIR exposure. They analyze large cohort studies from Europe and the U.S., as well as meta-analyses, and compare findings for different types of cancer. The review also discusses how studies measure exposure, the types of data used, and the strengths and weaknesses of different research methods. The authors read and compare many past studies about cancer in airline workers, looking at how these studies measured radiation exposure and cancer cases.
3 Findings
The review finds that airline crew have higher rates of certain cancers, such as melanoma (a type of skin cancer), non-melanoma skin cancer, and breast cancer in female flight attendants, compared to the general population. However, the evidence does not clearly prove that cosmic ionizing radiation (CIR) is the direct cause, because other factors like disrupted sleep patterns, lifestyle, and past exposures (such as secondhand smoke) also affect cancer risk. Some studies show a possible link between CIR and cancer risk, especially for skin cancers, but results are inconsistent for other cancers like prostate, thyroid, leukemia, and brain cancer. The review highlights major challenges in measuring CIR exposure accurately and controlling for confounding factors. The authors recommend better exposure tracking, more detailed studies, and updated health guidelines as air travel and CIR exposure are expected to increase in the future. Some cancers are more common in airline workers, but it's hard to know if space radiation is the main reason because many other things could also cause these cancers.