The flight crew has higher rates of some cancers, Health News, and HealthWorld

PARIS: The flight crew has higher than average rates of some cancers, according to a study of more than 5,000 flight attendants based in the United States. "We report a lifetime prevalence of breast cancer, melanoma and nonmelanoma among flight crews compared to the general population," said Irina Mordukhovich, a researcher at the School of Public Health. from Harvard TH Chan. "Environmental Health".

Of the 5,366 flight attendants who participated in the study, just over 15% reported having already been diagnosed with cancer. Taking into account the age, the study revealed a higher cancer prevalence among crew members for each type of cancer examined

. About 3.4% of flight attendants had breast cancer, compared to 2.3% in the general population. the flight crew rate was 0.15% compared to 0.13% for uterine cancer; 1% vs. 0.70% for cervical cancer; 0.47% compared to 0.27% for cancer of the stomach or colon; and 0.67% compared to 0.56% for thyroid cancer

. Male crews had higher rates of skin cancer.

Flight crews are regularly exposed to known and probable carcinogens, including cosmic radiation from space, disruption of circadian rhythm, and chemical contaminants. More than 80% of the flight attendants who participated in the study were women. On average, the attendants were 51 years old and had been working for more than 20 years.