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Abstract

Indoor radon is the second most important risk factor for lung cancer and may also be a risk factor for hematopoietic cancers, particularly in children and adolescents. The present study measured indoor radon concentration nationwide at 5553 points during 1989-2009 and spatially interpolated using lognormal kriging. The incidences of lung cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and leukemia, stratified by sex and five-year age groups in each of the 234 administrative regions in the country during 1999-2008, were obtained from the National Cancer Registry and used to calculate the standardized incidence ratios. After considering regional deprivation index values and smoking rates by sex in each region as confounding variables, the cancer risks were estimated based on Bayesian hierarchical modeling. We found that a 10 Bq/m³ increase in indoor radon concentration was associated with a 1% increase in the incidence of lung cancer in male and a 7% increase in NHL in female children and adolescents in Korea aged less than 20 years. Leukemia was not associated with indoor radon concentration. The increase in NHL risk among young women requires confirmation in future studies, and the radon control program should consider children and adolescents. 

Author information

Ha M1, Hwang SS2, Kang S3, Park NW4, Chang BU5, Kim Y6.​

1 Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, 119 Dandae-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, Chungnam 31116, Korea. minaha@dku.edu.

2 Department of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea. cyberdoc@snu.ac.kr.

3 Department of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea. rjmcmc@gmail.com.

4 Department of Geoinformatic Engineering, Inha University, 100 Inha-ro, Nam-gu, Incheon 22212, Korea. nwpark@inha.ac.kr.

5 Department of Natural Radiation Safety, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, 62 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34142, Korea. k384cbu@kins.re.kr.

6 Department of Natural Radiation Safety, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, 62 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34142, Korea. k337kyj@kins.re.kr.