3.4% of female flight attendants reported having had breast cancer compared with 2.3% of women in the general population group
2.2% of female flight attendants reported having had melanoma skin cancer compared with 0.98% of women in the general population group
1.2% of male flight attendants reported having had melanoma skin cancer compared with 0.69% of men in the general population group
7.4% of female flight attendants reported having had non-melanoma skin cancer compared with 1.8% of women in the general population group
3.2% of male flight attendants reported having had non-melanoma skin cancer compared with 2.9% of men in the general population group
Researchers found that women and men on U.S. cabin crews have higher rates of many types of cancer, compared with the general population. This includes cancers of the breast, cervix, skin, thyroid and uterus, as well as gastrointestinal system cancers, which include colon, stomach, esophageal, liver and pancreatic cancers.
One possible explanation for these increased rates is that flight attendants are exposed to a lot of known and potential carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents, within their work environment, said lead study author Irina Mordukhovich, a research associate at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. [10 Do’s and Don’ts to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer]
One of those carcinogens is cosmic ionizing radiation, which is elevated at higher altitudes, Mordukhovich told Live Science. This type of radiation is particularly damaging to DNA and is a known cause of breast cancer and nonmelanoma skin cancer, she said.
Yea, you’re exposed to cosmic radiations because 90% of the atmosphere is in the troposphere. They do an excellent job of blocking cosmic rays, especially water vapor. S if you’re flying 8 hours a day on average you’re going to have problems. Astronauts face the same problem, in addition to not having gravity…
Weird. I imagine the frequent upsets in sleep schedule also contribute to this. Flip-flopping through time zones all the time is probably about as bad for your health as working night shifts.
Years ago I read that a high percentage of pilots die shortly after retirement at 50/55yo due to their inability to adapt to their inner biological clock after flying through many time zones throughout their career.
They can’t adapt to one time zone only after retirement so the only solution is to live globally in 2/3/4 time zones after retirement according to what I read years ago.
Study is about flight attendants? Ionizing radiation aside, they just have their internal clock screwed up by flying between different timezones. Poor sleep habits for years on end can cause many ailments.
