title: Low-dose ionising radiation and cardiovascular diseases--Strategies for molecular epidemiological studies in Europe.
abstract: It is well established that high-dose ionising radiation causes cardiovascular diseases. In contrast, the evidence for a causal relationship between long-term risk of cardiovascular diseases after moderate doses (0.5-5 Gy) is suggestive and weak after low doses (<0.5 Gy). However, evidence is emerging that doses under 0.5 Gy may also increase long-term risk of cardiovascular disease. This would have major implications for radiation protection with respect to medical use of radiation for diagnostic purposes and occupational or environmental radiation exposure. Therefore, it is of great importance to gain information about the presence and possible magnitude of radiation-related cardiovascular disease risk at doses of less than 0.5 Gy. The biological mechanisms implicated in any such effects are unclear and results from epidemiological studies are inconsistent. Molecular epidemiological studies can improve the understanding of the pathogenesis and the risk estimation of radiation-induced circulatory disease at low doses. Within the European DoReMi (Low Dose Research towards Multidisciplinary Integration) project, strategies to conduct molecular epidemiological studies in this field have been developed and evaluated. Key potentially useful European cohorts are the Mayak workers, other nuclear workers, uranium miners, Chernobyl liquidators, the Techa river residents and several diagnostic or low-dose radiotherapy patient cohorts. Criteria for informative studies are given and biomarkers to be investigated suggested. A close collaboration between epidemiology, biology and dosimetry is recommended, not only among experts in the radiation field, but also those in cardiovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: BfS, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Department Radiation Protection and Health, Neuherberg, Germany. Electronic address: mkreuzer@bfs.de.
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kreuzer
authors.affiliation: University of Tampere, School of Health Sciences, Finland and STUK - Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Anssi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Auvinen
authors.affiliation: CREAL, Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and CIBER Epidemiologia y Salud Publica (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cardis
authors.affiliation: Institut Curie, Inserm U612, Orsay, France; Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon, UMR Inserm 1052, CNRS 5286, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: IRSN, Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, Fontenay aux Roses, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Rene
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Jourdain
authors.affiliation: IRSN, Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, Fontenay aux Roses, France.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Laurier
authors.affiliation: NCI, National Cancer Institute, Radiation Epidemiology Branch, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Mark P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Little
authors.affiliation: HMGU, Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: PHE, Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, UK.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Raj
authors.affiliation: NKI, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nicola S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: HMGU, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Radiation Biology, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Soile
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tapio
authors.affiliation: PHE, Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, UK.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: BfS, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Department Radiation Protection and Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gomolka
mesh_terms: D066126:Cardiotoxicity / Q000453:epidemiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D018570:Risk Assessment
keywords: Biomarker; Cardiovascular diseases; Epidemiology; Ionising radiation; Pathogenesis