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Radon Exposure and Incident Stroke Risk in the Women's Health Initiative
Sophie F Buchheit1, Jason M Collins1, Kurtis M Anthony1
1From the Brown University (S.F.B.), Providence, RI; Family Medicine (S.F.B.), Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville, NC; Department of Epidemiology (J.M.C., K.M.A., S.-A.M.L., J.D.S., R.G., E.A.W.), Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Department of Neurology (D.Y.H.), School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Department of Medicine (J.E.M.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; Division of Public Health Sciences (A.P.R.), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle; Department of Population Health (G.G.S.), School of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks; Department of Epidemiology and Prevention (M.Z.V.), Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC; Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center (R.R.S.), U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, Denver, CO; Department of Statistics & Operations Research and Department of Biostatistics (R.L.S.), Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Department of Medicine (E.A.W.), School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Home radon exposure is linked to a moderately increased stroke risk in US women. Lowering the Radon Action Level may reduce the public health impact of cerebrovascular disease.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Neurology
Background:
- The role of radon in stroke epidemiology among women is not well understood.
- This study investigated the association between residential radon exposure and stroke risk in US women.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between home radon exposure and the risk of stroke in middle-aged and older women.
- To inform potential public health interventions regarding radon exposure levels.
Main Methods:
- A prospective cohort study of 158,910 postmenopausal women (aged 50-79) from the Women's Health Initiative.
- Radon exposure was estimated based on indoor concentrations (pCi/L) in 1993.
- Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess stroke risk, adjusting for various covariates.
Main Results:
- Over a mean follow-up of 13.4 years, 6,979 incident strokes were recorded.
- Stroke risk was elevated at radon concentrations of 2-4 pCi/L (HR 1.06) and >4 pCi/L (HR 1.14) compared to <2 pCi/L.
- Significantly increased stroke risk was observed at radon levels between 2-4 pCi/L, below the EPA's action level.
Conclusions:
- Radon exposure is associated with a moderately increased risk of stroke in US women.
- The findings suggest that a lower Radon Action Level could mitigate the public health burden of cerebrovascular disease.
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