Research shows that airline pilots run higher risk of cataracts

Airline Industry Information, August 9, 2005

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According to research conducted at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik airline pilots are subjected to a higher risk of developingcataracts due to their exposure to cosmic rays whilst in the air.

Research was conducted on 445 men aged over 50, 79 of whom were airline pilots and 71 were found to have nuclear cataracts, leading researchers to conclude that the pilots had triple the risk of developing cataracts when compared to other survey participants.

According to Vilhjalmur Rafnsson, the author of the study, the association between the cosmic radiation exposure of pilots and therisk of nuclear cataracts indicates that cosmic radiation may be a causative factor in nuclear cataracts, reported Reuters. In addition the report said that astronauts share the higher risk of cataracts associated with cosmic radiation.

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