Work

Mortality of Enlisted Men Who Served on Nuclear-Powered Submarines in the United States Navy

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To describe the long-term mortality experience of a cohort of enlisted men who served on nuclear-powered submarines in the United States Navy and breathed recirculated filtered air for extended periods of time. METHODS: In this historical cohort study we estimated standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and used within-cohort Poisson regression analyses to address healthy worker biases. RESULTS: Three thousand two hundred sixty three deaths occurred among 85,498 men during 1,926,875 person-years of follow-up from 1969 to 1995. SMRs were reduced for most cause-of-death categories, prostate cancer had a twofold elevation. In within-cohort comparisons, prostate cancer mortality did not increase with duration of submarine service, but ischemic heart disease mortality increased 26% per 5 years of submarine service. CONCLUSIONS: Long periods of submarine service do not increase mortality in most cause-of-death categories. Increased mortality from ischemic heart disease likely reflects the effects of tobacco smoke.

Source: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

DOI: 10.1097/jom.0000000000002364

Authors: George Friedman-Jimenez, Ikuko Kato, Pam Factor-Litvak, Roy Shore

Institutions: Wayne State University, The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Bellevue Hospital Center, New York University, Columbia University

Language: English

Topic: Occupational Health and Performance

Subfield: Occupational Therapy

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

OpenAlex ID: W3194739626

FWCI: 2.06

Cites: 34

Cited by: 7

Related to: 10