Risk of cancer from flying Flight personnel are increasingly suffering from cancer

New study: cancer rate in flight crew much higher

A recent study has shown that airline personnel are more likely to get certain forms of cancer than the average population. Pilots and flight attendants are therefore more likely to have skin, breast, uterine, intestinal, thyroid and cervical cancer.

Health risks during air travel

Air travel poses a health risk for a variety of reasons. Not only because the risk of thrombosis is increased on the plane, but also because, according to studies, sometimes toxic air is in aircraft cabins that can cause illness. For frequent flyers, there is another danger added. As a new study shows, flight crews are more likely to suffer from certain cancers than the average population.

Pilots and flight attendants are more likely to develop certain types of cancer than the average population. The US researchers have now found out. (Image: Jag_cz / fotolia.com)

Increased cosmic rays and UV radiation

Although the life of a flight attendant may look glamorous, the job also carries enormous health hazards.

In their working life above the clouds, they are exposed to increased cosmic rays and UV radiation.

It has long been known that on-board personnel and pilots are more likely to develop skin cancer.

In addition, scientists have found that female flight crews often get breast cancer.

A new study, published in the journal Environmental Health, has shown that pilots and stewardesses are also more likely to develop other cancers.

Aircrews are more likely to contract various forms of cancer

Eileen McNeely and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health found that US air crews are more likely to develop various forms of cancer than the average population.

To get their results, the researchers compared the data of more than 5,300 mostly female flight attendants with the data of 5,000 participants in a national health study of the US Department of Health CDC.

In addition to various skin tumors, they are more common in breast cancer, colorectal cancer, thyroid cancer, uterine and cervical compared to the appropriate age group of the overall study.

Higher breast cancer rate

According to the information, about 15 percent of the flight crew had received a cancer diagnosis.

According to co-author Irina Mordukhovich, a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health, the result is striking, given the low rates of overweight and smokers in this profession.

"Something that surprised us to some degree was that we also saw a higher breast cancer rate in women with three or more children," Mordukhovich told CNN..

Normally, the more children a woman has, the lower the risk of breast cancer.

"Women with three or more children will probably not get enough sleep," says Mordukhovich.

If then the disturbed sleep times come through the work - especially on international flights - added, the daily sleep-wake cycle get confused. And this increases cancer risk, as previous studies have shown.

German experts see results critically

The difference in skin cancer was also clear. According to the researchers, more than twice as many flight attendants developed melanoma, and as many as four times as many other forms of skin cancer.

According to experts of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), however, the study findings on breast and skin cancer are not new, reports the news agency dpa. However, they should be interpreted with caution.

Increased breast cancer rates, for example, could also be related to the fact that flight attendants generally have fewer and often relatively late children. "Both factors increase the risk of breast cancer."

In addition, the BfS states that, with regard to the higher skin cancer rates, it is not clear how often those affected otherwise went to the sun.

According to the Office, the UV radiation in the aircraft is less of a threat, the more problematic is the cosmic radiation. "It depends primarily on the altitude, the flight duration and the time."

No danger for occasional pilots

In Europe, the radiation exposure of pilots and Co is monitored and limited, so that a certain dose in the year is not exceeded.

According to the BfS, the approximately 40,000 monitored German flight attendants are on average exposed to radiation of 2.5 millisieverts.

According to the dpa news agency, the annual limit for people exposed to radiation is 20 millisieverts.

For people who are not on the job in the plane, the risk is rather low:

"For occasional pilots, as most holiday pilots are, the additional radiation exposure from flying is very low and harmless to health; This also applies to pregnant women and toddlers, "writes the BfS on its website. (Ad)