Publications by authors named "Kaare Ulbak"

Background: Although exposure to UV radiation is the major risk factor for skin cancer, theoretical models suggest that radon exposure can contribute to risk, and this is supported by ecological studies. We sought to confirm or refute an association between long-term exposure to residential radon and the risk for malignant melanoma (MM) and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) using a prospective cohort design and long-term residential radon exposure.

Methods: During 1993-1997, we recruited 57,053 Danish persons and collected baseline information.

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We investigated whether there is an interaction between distance from residence at birth to nearest power line and domestic radon and traffic-related air pollution, respectively, in relation to childhood leukemia risk. Further, we investigated whether adjusting for potential confounders alters the association between distance to nearest power line and childhood leukemia. We included 1024 cases aged <15, diagnosed with leukemia during 1968-1991, from the Danish Cancer Registry and 2048 controls randomly selected from the Danish childhood population and individually matched by gender and year of birth.

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Background: Increased brain tumour incidence over recent decades may reflect improved diagnostic methods and clinical practice, but remain unexplained. Although estimated doses are low a relationship between radon and brain tumours may exist.

Objective: To investigate the long-term effect of exposure to residential radon on the risk of primary brain tumour in a prospective Danish cohort.

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High-level occupational radon exposure is an established risk factor for lung cancer. We assessed the long-term association between residential radon and lung cancer risk using a prospective Danish cohort using 57,053 persons recruited during 1993-1997. We followed each cohort member for cancer occurrence until 27 June 2006, identifying 589 lung cancer cases.

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Background: In a recent population-based case-control study using 2,400 cases of childhood cancer, we found a statistically significant association between residential radon and acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk.

Hypothesis: Traffic exhaust in the air enhances the risk association between radon and childhood leukemia.

Methods: We included 985 cases of childhood leukemia and 1,969 control children.

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Background: Higher incidence rates of childhood cancer and particularly leukemia have been observed in regions with higher radon levels, but case-control studies have given inconsistent results. We tested the hypothesis that domestic radon exposure increases the risk for childhood cancer.

Methods: We identified 2400 incident cases of leukemia, central nervous system tumor, and malignant lymphoma diagnosed in children between 1968 and 1994 in the Danish Cancer Registry.

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A linear regression model has been developed for the prediction of indoor (222)Rn in Danish houses. The model provides proxy radon concentrations for about 21,000 houses in a Danish case-control study on the possible association between residential radon and childhood cancer (primarily leukaemia). The model was calibrated against radon measurements in 3116 houses.

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