Exposure to Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is one of the leading causes of lung cancer, has been linked to an increased risk of stroke, according to a new study.
Published Wednesday in the online issue of Neurology, which is the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the study examined the association between home radon exposure and the risk of stroke among middle-aged and older women in the U.S.
Radon, a radioactive gas with no smell, taste, or color, is naturally produced from the breakdown of metals like uranium or radium in rocks and soil. Radon can make its way into homes and buildings through small cracks or holes, construction joints and gaps around pipes. As occupants of the household breathe in radon over time, radioactive materials get trapped in the lungs.
Radon causes about 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the U.S. every year, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates.
Results of the study published Wednesday do not prove that radon exposure causes stroke but show an association between the two.
As part of the study, 158,910 female participants aged 50–79 years at baseline (1993–1998) were involved, and 6,979 strokes were identified among participants for about 13 years.
Researchers determined how much radon the female participants were exposed to by using radon concentration data from the U.S. Geological Survey and EPA and linking them with the participants’ home addresses.
As per EPA recommendations, average indoor radon concentrations should not exceed four picocuries per liter (pCi/L), and if the concentration is this high, households are recommended to have a radon mitigation system to lower radon levels in the home.
“Radon is an indoor air pollutant that can only be detected through testing that measures concentrations of the gas in homes,” said study author Eric A. Whitsel, MD, MPH, of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
“Our research found an increased risk of stroke among…
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