Occupational exposure to ionizing radiation and the impacts on cancer incidence, and mortality: a record linkage cohort study of nearly one million workers in the Canadian National Dose Registry
Description: All Canadians are exposed to ionizing radiation, whether it be from medical treatments, airplane travel, or the production of nuclear energy. Nearly 160,000 Canadians are exposed to radiation in their workplaces. Many have concerns about the health effects of radiation, because it is known to cause cancer, has been linked to heart disease, and may increase the risk of dementia. There is a lack of knowledge about the health effects at low doses of radiation. This study has been designed to improve our knowledge of how prolonged exposure to radiation increases the risk of cancer or death. Our study would analyze data from ~1,000,000 workers in the Canadian National Dose Registry (NDR) whose mortality and cancer history have been determined from record linkage. These workers better represent the types of radiation exposures that Canadians receive than the Japanese atomic bomb survivors that have played a central role in understanding radiation health effects. Our specific aims are to characterize the dose-response relationships between ionizing radiation and cancer incidence and life expectancy in Canadian workers. Secondary objectives will evaluate associations between ionizing radiation exposures and specific causes of death and assess sex differences in risk. All objectives will be addressed by analyzing individual-level contained in the NDR. No analyses of these outcomes in the NDR have been done in nearly 20 years. This Health Canada registry follows up radiation exposed workers from 1950 onwards. Occupational radiation doses have been collected four times each year. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Health Canada recently funded Statistics Canada to extend the follow-up of this cohort by 20 years by linking these workers (at an individual level) to Canadian mortality and cancer incidence through 2018. Our findings will provide important evidence about the health impacts of low dose ionizing radiation for both the public, and regulatory agencies.
Amount: CA$558,500
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: Project Grant
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2027-09-30
Investigator: Paul Villeneuve
Institution: Carleton University (Ottawa)
Funded outputs count: 0
Funder award ID: 190285_1
OpenAlex ID: G8777908060