The current mortality rates of radiologists and other physician specialists: deaths from all causes and from cancer

Abstract

The cohort mortality experience of radiologists and other specialists over a 50-year period was examined on the assumption that these groups would differ relative to a presumed decrease in radiation exposure. Radiologists had an excess in all-cause mortality rates compared to the other specialists for all cohorts who entered the Radiological Society of North America before 1940; the excess remained even when the cancer deaths were removed from the rates. These data are consistent with the concept of accelerated aging due to radiation. The cancer mortality rates for radiologists were higher than those of other specialists for an additional decade through 1949. The 1950-1959 cohort had not aged sufficiently to demonstrate the expected peak cancer mortality in the 60-64 year age group. Several hypotheses are presented to suggest reasons for differences in the trends of age-specific cancer mortality by cohorts of entry.