Lung cancer and housing characteristics

Lung cancer incidence in Washington County, Maryland, was determined for a 12-yr period and was correlated with personal and housing data from a nonofficial 1963 census. Because indoor radon measurements were not available, two housing characteristics reported to be related to indoor radon concentration--type of basement construction and type of building materials--were used as surrogate measures. An adjusted rate of lung cancer incidence was obtained for each characteristic. Only age, male sex, amount smoked, and standard of living were significantly associated with lung cancer. Rates were highest in houses which had concrete walls and no basements, although the differences were slight and could have occurred by chance.