TY - JOUR
T1 - Occupational radiation exposure and risk of cataract incidence in a cohort of US radiologic technologists
AU - Little, Mark P.
AU - Kitahara, Cari M.
AU - Cahoon, Elizabeth K.
AU - Bernier, Marie Odile
AU - Velazquez-Kronen, Raquel
AU - Doody, Michele M.
AU - Borrego, David
AU - Miller, Jeremy S.
AU - Alexander, Bruce H
AU - Simon, Steven L.
AU - Preston, Dale L.
AU - Hamada, Nobuyuki
AU - Linet, Martha S.
AU - Meyer, Craig
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - It has long been known that relatively high-dose ionising radiation exposure (> 1 Gy) can induce cataract, but there has been no evidence that this occurs at low doses (< 100 mGy). To assess low-dose risk, participants from the US Radiologic Technologists Study, a large, prospective cohort, were followed from date of mailed questionnaire survey completed during 1994–1998 to the earliest of self-reported diagnosis of cataract/cataract surgery, cancer other than non-melanoma skin, or date of last survey (up to end 2014). Cox proportional hazards models with age as timescale were used, adjusted for a priori selected cataract risk factors (diabetes, body mass index, smoking history, race, sex, birth year, cumulative UVB radiant exposure). 12,336 out of 67,246 eligible technologists reported a history of diagnosis of cataract during 832,479 person years of follow-up, and 5509 from 67,709 eligible technologists reported undergoing cataract surgery with 888,420 person years of follow-up. The mean cumulative estimated 5-year lagged eye-lens absorbed dose from occupational radiation exposures was 55.7 mGy (interquartile range 23.6–69.0 mGy). Five-year lagged occupational radiation exposure was strongly associated with self-reported cataract, with an excess hazard ratio/mGy of 0.69 × 10−3 (95% CI 0.27 × 10−3 to 1.16 × 10−3, p < 0.001). Cataract risk remained statistically significant (p = 0.030) when analysis was restricted to < 100 mGy cumulative occupational radiation exposure to the eye lens. A non-significantly increased excess hazard ratio/mGy of 0.34 × 10−3 (95% CI − 0.19 × 10−3 to 0.97 × 10−3, p = 0.221) was observed for cataract surgery. Our results suggest that there is excess risk for cataract associated with radiation exposure from low-dose and low dose-rate occupational exposures.
AB - It has long been known that relatively high-dose ionising radiation exposure (> 1 Gy) can induce cataract, but there has been no evidence that this occurs at low doses (< 100 mGy). To assess low-dose risk, participants from the US Radiologic Technologists Study, a large, prospective cohort, were followed from date of mailed questionnaire survey completed during 1994–1998 to the earliest of self-reported diagnosis of cataract/cataract surgery, cancer other than non-melanoma skin, or date of last survey (up to end 2014). Cox proportional hazards models with age as timescale were used, adjusted for a priori selected cataract risk factors (diabetes, body mass index, smoking history, race, sex, birth year, cumulative UVB radiant exposure). 12,336 out of 67,246 eligible technologists reported a history of diagnosis of cataract during 832,479 person years of follow-up, and 5509 from 67,709 eligible technologists reported undergoing cataract surgery with 888,420 person years of follow-up. The mean cumulative estimated 5-year lagged eye-lens absorbed dose from occupational radiation exposures was 55.7 mGy (interquartile range 23.6–69.0 mGy). Five-year lagged occupational radiation exposure was strongly associated with self-reported cataract, with an excess hazard ratio/mGy of 0.69 × 10−3 (95% CI 0.27 × 10−3 to 1.16 × 10−3, p < 0.001). Cataract risk remained statistically significant (p = 0.030) when analysis was restricted to < 100 mGy cumulative occupational radiation exposure to the eye lens. A non-significantly increased excess hazard ratio/mGy of 0.34 × 10−3 (95% CI − 0.19 × 10−3 to 0.97 × 10−3, p = 0.221) was observed for cataract surgery. Our results suggest that there is excess risk for cataract associated with radiation exposure from low-dose and low dose-rate occupational exposures.
KW - Cataract
KW - Cataract surgery
KW - Diabetes
KW - Ionising radiation
KW - Low dose rate
KW - Questionnaire-based assessment
KW - Threshold
KW - Tissue reaction effects
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U2 - 10.1007/s10654-018-0435-3
DO - 10.1007/s10654-018-0435-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 30151727
AN - SCOPUS:85053056384
JO - European Journal of Epidemiology
JF - European Journal of Epidemiology
SN - 0393-2990
ER -