Increased Screening Rates for Thyroid Cancer Among Residents Living Near Nuclear Power Plants
10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e369
- Author:
Ga Bin LEE
1
;
Soojin PARK
;
Won Il JANG
;
Sunhoo PARK
;
Jae Kwan JUN
;
Songwon SEO
Author Information
1. National Radiation Emergency Medical Center, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea
- Publication Type:Brief Communication
- From:Journal of Korean Medical Science
2023;38(44):e369-
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Frequent screening for thyroid cancer has been suggested as a probable explanation for the observed high risk of thyroid cancer in nuclear power plant (NPP) areas. We aimed to compare thyroid cancer screening rates of residents living near NPPs to those of the general population. This study utilized data from two national survey-based studies in 2016 and in 2014, respectively, for residents (n = 1,200) living in administrative districts within 5 km of NPP sites as the interest group, and the general population (n = 228,712) including distantliving residents (n = 19,100) in administrative districts within 30 km of NPP sites as reference groups. We observed an increase in screening rates in residents near NPPs, which may lead to a higher possibility of thyroid cancer detection. Therefore, further epidemiological studies investigating radiation-induced thyroid cancer risk among residents near NPPs should be carefully designed and interpreted considering possible detection bias.
