An inverse association between cancer mortality rate of women and residential radon in 34 Hungarian villages

Abstract

The associations between cancer mortality and median radon levels were examined in 34 Hungarian small villages (with population less than 5000) during the 1984-2000 period. The yearly averages of radon activity concentrations were measured in more than 70 homes in totally 5,081 houses in each village. There were no significant differences in the age distribution and the cancer mortality rate between the studied villages and all Hungarian villages with less than 5000 inhabitants. A previous cohort study in two neighboring villages in Hungary revealed a lower cancer incidence rate among women aged 30-64 in medium radon level (110-185 Bq . m-3). The aim of this study was checking the results of the previous study. Cancer mortality rate was examined in two groups: below and above the median value (110 Bq . m-3) of radon level. The lower or higher radon levels of homes do not result in significant differences concerning cancer mortality rate of males. However, the middle-aged group (30-64 years) of women had more lethal cancer cases in the lower radon level groups (59-109 Bq . m-3) than in the higher ones (110-226 Bq . m-3), the relative cancer risk was 1.3 (95% CI 1.1 to 1.6).