Authored by Dale Preston and his colleagues Yukiko Shimizu, Donald A. Pierce, Akihiko Suyama and Kiyohiko Mabuchi, the study appears in the October issue of Radiation Research.
The authors found that while excess rates for radiation-related cancers have increased throughout the study period, relative risks have declined with increasing attained age. As noted in previous reports, the relative risks are highest for those exposed as children.
No significant difference between cities (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) has been found for either the relative or absolute excess solid cancer risk.
Evidence for radiation effects on noncancer mortality continues to be strong, with statistically significant increases for heart disease, digestive diseases, and respiratory diseases.
The cohort studied consists of over 86,000 people with individual dose estimates, with 60% having doses of at least 5 mSv.
RERF is a private nonprofit foundation funded equally by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the U.S. Department of Energy through the National Academy of Sciences.
Preston, D. L. et al., "Studies of Mortality of Atomic Bomb Survivors. Report 13: Solid Cancer and Noncancer Disease Mortality: 1950-1997," Radiat. Res. 2003, Vol. 160, pages 381-407.
Radiation Research