title: Apollo Lunar Astronauts Show Higher Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: Possible Deep Space Radiation Effects on the Vascular Endothelium.
abstract: As multiple spacefaring nations contemplate extended manned missions to Mars and the Moon, health risks could be elevated as travel goes beyond the Earth's protective magnetosphere into the more intense deep space radiation environment. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether mortality rates due to cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, accidents and all other causes of death differ in (1) astronauts who never flew orbital missions in space, (2) astronauts who flew only in low Earth orbit (LEO), and (3) Apollo lunar astronauts, the only humans to have traveled beyond Earth's magnetosphere. Results show there were no differences in CVD mortality rate between non-flight (9%) and LEO (11%) astronauts. However, the CVD mortality rate among Apollo lunar astronauts (43%) was 4-5 times higher than in non-flight and LEO astronauts. To test a possible mechanistic basis for these findings, a secondary purpose was to determine the long-term effects of simulated weightlessness and space-relevant total-body irradiation on vascular responsiveness in mice. The results demonstrate that space-relevant irradiation induces a sustained vascular endothelial cell dysfunction. Such impairment is known to lead to occlusive artery disease, and may be an important risk factor for CVD among astronauts exposed to deep space radiation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Delp
authors.affiliation: Wyle Science, Technology and Engineering Group, Johnson Space Center, Houston TX 77058, USA.
authors.forename: Jacqueline M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Charvat
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
authors.forename: Charles L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Limoli
authors.affiliation: Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
authors.forename: Ruth K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Globus
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
authors.forename: Payal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghosh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018480:Astronauts; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003359:Cosmic Radiation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016081:Moon; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011835:Radiation Protection; D013026:Space Flight