Cabin Crew is Much More Likely to Develop Cancer, According to a New Harvard Study
A Study of More than 5,000 Flight Attendants in America Revealed That Cases Were More Common for All the forms of the disease examined. Breast cancer, for example, was about 50% higher among flight attendants than other women.
It was one of the most in-depth analyzes of its kind and scientists have characterized these results as alarming because of their healthy lifestyle. Harvard researchers were stunned by the elevated cancer risk for aerial hosts ” class=”blkBorder img-share” />
Harvard were stunned hosts
Corresponding author, Dr. Irina Mordukhovich, said, "Our study is one of the largest and most comprehensive studies on cancer among cabin crew members to date and we have profiled many cancers. 02] & # 39; Consistent with previous studies, we report a lifetime prevalence of breast skin cancer, melanoma and non-melanoma among flight crew members compared to the general population
" This is striking given the low rates of overweight and smoking.
At high altitude, where the air is thinner and offers less shield, passengers and crew can be exposed between 100 and 300 times the dose of cosmic radiation that they receive at sea level.
have suggested that airline crews receive a greater dose of radiation over a year than workers in the nuclear industry
Long-haul trips that disrupt the body's clock and affect hormonal levels are additional risks
.According to the Environmental Health Journal, the increase in incidence was related to the hard e work, which means that even work in the & # 39; air for less than five years increases the risk.
Dr. Mordukhovich, of HaRvard TH Chan School of Public Health, and her colleagues discovered that of the 5,366 flight attendants surveyed, one in seven had been diagnosed with cancer.
After taking into account age, the prevalence of all cancers was higher than public. More than 80% of the participants were women
These included breast (3.4% vs. 2.3%), uterus (0.15% vs. 0.13%), cervix. uterus (1% vs. 0.7%), gastrointestins (0.47% vs. 0.29%) and the thyroid (0.67% vs. 0.56%).
Researchers also found an association between each five-year increase in time spent working as an air hostess and non-melanoma skin cancer in women. But no link has been identified between duration of occupation and thyroid cancer or melanoma – the most lethal skin cancer – in women
and breast cancer risk in women who have never had children.
Dr. Mordukhovich said, "Nulliparity is a known risk factor for breast cancer, but we were surprised to replicate a recent finding that exposure to the hostess's work Air was exclusively linked to breast cancer.
"This may be due to combined sources of circadian rhythm disturbance – ie, sleep deprivation and irregular schedules – at home and at work"
Melanoma and Skin Cancer without melanoma (1.2% and 3.2% compared to 0.69% and 2.9% in the general population, respectively)
This was particularly the case if they were exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke before introduction. Dr. Mordukhovich said, "Our study informs about future research priorities regarding the health of this group of under-researched workers, who have a wide range of occupational exposures to known and probable carcinogens, including ionizing radiation. cosmic, disruption of circadian rhythm and possible chemical contaminants in the cabin of the aircraft.
"Our results raise the question of what can be done to minimize the exposures His team used data from a survey conducted from 2013 to 2014 as part of the study on the health of agents in progress in 2007. Participants were on average 51 years old and had been in the profession for
They compared self-reported cancer diagnoses with numbers from a cohort of 2,729 men and women having the same economic status than those collected as part of the National Health and Food Survey during the same years
. Earlier research by scientists in Iceland suggested that air hostesses were up to five times more likely to contract breast cancer.
This is because they fly more on northern roads where cosmic radiation exposure is highest. And the risk of melanoma has risen three times for the cabin crew of both sexes.
The average amount of radiation exposure has increased over time as planes fly higher and longer.
