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Commentary: Cataract risk among nuclear emergency workers exposed to radiation following the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident

Year: 2026

Type: editorial

Abstract: In a recent issue of IJE, Hu and colleagues investigated the cataract risk among male nuclear workers who performed emergency tasks following the Great East Japan (Tohoku) Earthquake on 11 March 2011 [1]. The Nuclear Emergency Workers Study (NEWS) is the first to have evaluated the cataract risk in relation to individual radiation-dose estimates in the 15 years since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident. The overall findings were increased risks of self-reported cataracts for both lifetime occupational radiation exposure [hazard ratio per 10 millisieverts (HR/10 mSv) = 1.03; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.05] and exposure during the 9-month emergency period (HR/10 mSv = 1.06; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.09). The HRs remained significantly elevated even within the restricted dose range of <100 mSv, with effect sizes that exceeded those reported in other radiation-exposed populations. However, when a 5-year lag period was used, the lifetime HR/10 mSv was reduced to 1.01 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.04). This important study highlights the value of considering different exposure scenarios, dose ranges, and lag periods when evaluating radiation risk.

Source: International Journal of Epidemiology

DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyag135

Author: Elizabeth K Cahoon

Institutions: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics

Language: English

Topic: Effects of Radiation Exposure

Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health