How Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation Causes Childhood Cancer? - Research Paper

Introduction

The research question is vital to public health because it seeks to establish whether low-dose ionizing radiation causes childhood cancer. More specifically, findings of the study will help to alleviate the fears as well as determine whether domestic radon exposure leads to childhood cancers, especially tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) and leukemia (Hauri et al., 2013). Ha et al. (2017) and Kendall, Wakeford, Bunch, Vincent, and Little (2015) have also examined the relationship between radon exposure and childhood cancer.

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Local Significance/Global Impact of the Study

This study is of worldwide importance, not only local importance. It is an issue of public health significance to note that there is an increasing level of radon pollution across the globe such as in the United States (Blomberg et al., 2018), in China (World Health Organization, 2016), in Brazil (Lino et al., 2015), and other countries. Also, findings of studies conducted in different countries across the world have linked radon to adverse health outcomes, particularly cancer (Yoon et al., 2016). Because of the potential adverse health consequences of radon exposure, the study deserves global attention. Findings of such studies will help to alleviate the fears associated with radon pollution as well as in the establishment of mitigation strategies needed to curb its pollution.

Literature Gap

The current study fills a literature gap. First, the researchers did a thorough background of past studies related to the rising cases of childhood cancer in various parts of the world, such as the United States and the UK (Hauri et al., 2013). Also, the association of low-dose ionizing radiation and incidences of childhood cancer was examined in depth. The need for the current study was informed by the inconsistency of results of past case-control studies, with some reporting a causal relationship between low-dose exposure to radon and childhood cancer and others not (Hauri et al., 2013). The researchers further noted that there are conflicting findings on the impact of radon exposure on children's CNS functioning (Hauri et al., 2013). Because of these contradictory results, the researchers sought to use a new methodological approach, a prospective census-based cohort study, to explore the association between low-dose exposure to radon and leukemia and CNS tumors.Critique of The Methodology and What I Would Have Done Differently

Hauri et al. (2013) utilized a prospective census-based cohort study to investigate whether there is an association between low-dose exposure to radon and leukemia and CNS tumors. The researchers chose prospective census-based cohort study to address the purpose of their study because it enabled the researchers to recruit participants and carry out a follow up to establish whether they developed cancer throughout the study (Ahn, 2016). In my case, I would have employed a case-control study to enable me to find out whether a causal relationship exists between the variables of the study.

Interpretation of the Results

From the findings of the current study, it can be concluded that radon does not cause childhood cancer. I agree with the researchers' interpretation of the results because these results were derived from strong statistical analysis techniques. Also, the interpretation of the findings considered those of past studies.

The Social Change Impact of the Findings

Based on the findings of this study, there should not be worries regarding the association between radon exposure and childhood cancer. However, the parents should ensure that their children are not exposed to high limits of radon pollution because, contrary to the current findings, some past studies have linked radon to childhood cancer. However, at low concentrations, there should be no cause for alarm.

Modifiability/Actionability of the Outcomes of the Study

I do not believe that the results of the current study are actionable. This is because there exists controversy concerning the association between radon pollution and childhood cancer. Consequently, further studies need to be conducted to ascertain whether the cause-effect relationship exists between the variables before concluding.

What Would You Propose as A Reasonable Action from The Findings, And Why?

Because past studies have reported conflicting findings regarding the association between radon pollution and childhood cancer, efforts should be made to lower acceptable radon levels. By lowering these levels, the potential negative health impact of the pollutant is reduced. Consequently, the prevalence of diseases associated with it is also reduced.

The Precautionary Principle

The precautionary principle states that when an activity is likely to have negative impacts on the environment or the health of individuals, preventive measures should be put in place if causal associations have not been fully established scientifically. Because there are no clear findings regarding the cause-effect relationship between radon pollution and childhood cancer, the recommended limits or levels of exposure should further be lowered to protect the children from possible adverse health consequences of radon.

Recent Studies

The findings showed that there is no association between domestic radon exposure and childhood cancer in Switzerland although the country has one of the highest radon levels in the world (Hauri et al., 2013). Some of the recent studies have agreed with Hauri et al.'s (2013) findings while others have not. Similarly, in a study carried out to evaluate the association between residential radon exposure and cases of childhood cancer in Texas, Peckham-Gregory et al. (2015) found no statistically significant association between residential radon exposure and lymphoma. However, contrary to the findings of the current study, Nelson et al. (2017), found out that childhood leukemia cases in California were attributable to indoor radon exposure during early.

Assessment Of The Significance And Interpretation of The Study Based On Other Studies

Based on the findings of other studies, especially the inconsistency of the results related to domestic exposure to radon and childhood cancer, I believe that more research studies need to be conducted to determine whether there is a cause-effect association between the two variables. Consequently, I think that the findings of Hauri et al. (2013) are not adequate and thus are not transferable to real-world settings.

References

Ahn, C. (2016). Chapter 19 - Biostatistics Used for Clinical Investigation of Coronary Artery Disease. In W. S. Aronow & J. A. McClung (Eds.), Translational Research in Coronary Artery Disease (pp. 215-221). Boston: Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-802385-3.00019-X

Blomberg, A. J., Coull, B. A., Jhun, I., Vieira, C. L. Z., Zanobetti, A., Garshick, E., ... Koutrakis, P. (2018). Effect modification of ambient particle mortality by radon: a time series analysis in 108 U.S. cities. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 0(ja), null. https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2018.1523071

Ha, M., Hwang, S., Kang, S., Park, N.-W., Chang, B.-U., & Kim, Y. (2017). Geographical correlations between indoor radon concentration and risks of lung cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and leukemia during 1999-2008 in Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(4), 344.

Hauri, D., Spycher, B., Huss, A., Zimmermann, F., Grotzer, M., von der Weid, N., ... Roosli, M. (2013). Domestic radon exposure and risk of childhood cancer: a prospective census-based cohort study. Environmental Health Perspectives, 121(10), 1239-1244.

Kendall, G. M., Wakeford, R., Bunch, K. J., Vincent, T. J., & Little, M. P. (2015). Residential mobility and associated factors in relation to the assessment of exposure to naturally occurring radiation in studies of childhood cancer. Journal of Radiological Protection, 35(4), 835.

Lino, A. da R., Abrahao, C. M., Amarante, M. P. F., & de Sousa Cruz, M. R. (2015). The role of the implementation of policies for the prevention of exposure to Radon in Brazil-a strategy for controlling the risk of developing lung cancer. Ecancermedicalscience, 9. https://doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2015.572

Nelson, L., Valle, J., King, G., Mills, P. K., Richardson, M. J., Roberts, E. M., ... English, P. (2017). Estimating the Proportion of Childhood Cancer Cases and Costs Attributable to the Environment in California. American Journal of Public Health, 107(5), 756-762. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303690

Peckham-Gregory, E., Scheurer, M., Danysh, H., Lubega, J., Langlois, P., & Lupo, P. (2015). Residential Radon Exposure and Incidence of Childhood Lymphoma in Texas, 1995-2011. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12, 12110-12126. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph121012110

World Health Organization (2016). Radon and health. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/radon-and-health

Yoon, J. Y., Lee, J.-D., Joo, S. W., & Kang, D. R. (2016). Indoor radon exposure and lung cancer: a review of ecological studies. Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 28(1), 15.