Potentiation of cigarette smoking and radiation evidence from a sputum cytology survey among uranium miners and controls

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Abstract
To assess the effect of cigarette smoking and of exposure to radon daughters, a prospective survey consisting of periodic sputum cytology evaluation was initiated among 249 underground uranium miners and 123 male controls. Sputum cytology specimens showing moderate atypia, marked atypia or cancer cells were classified as abnormal. Compared to control smokers, miners who smoke had a significantly higher incidence of abnormal cytology (P = 0.025). For miner smokers, the observed frequencies of abnormal cytology were linearly related to cumulative exposure to radon daughters and to the number of years of uranium mining. A statistical model relating the probability of abnormal cytology to the risk factors was investigated using a binary logistic regression. The estimated frequency of abnormal cytology was significantly dependent for controls on the duration of cigarette smoking, and for miners on the duration of cigarette smoking and of uranium mining.