Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Apr 28:15:939-948.
doi: 10.2147/COPD.S245982. eCollection 2020.

Exposure to Residential Radon and COPD: A Systematic Review

Alejandro Conde-Sampayo  1 , María Lorenzo-González  1 , Alberto Fernández-Villar  2 , Juan Miguel Barros-Dios  3   4   5 , Alberto Ruano-Ravina  3   4
Affiliations

Exposure to Residential Radon and COPD: A Systematic Review

Alejandro Conde-Sampayo et al. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. .

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between exposure to residential radon and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by means of a systematic review.

Material and methods: A search was conducted in PubMed and OVID for papers making reference to the radon-COPD relationship. No search filters were applied, whether by date of publication, study type or sample size. All studies not written in English or Spanish were discarded.

Results: A total of 174 and 57 papers were found in PubMed and OVID, respectively: of these, 13 (11 on miners and 2 on the general population) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Only four of the studies on cohorts of miners analysed COPD as a specific disease, and only one reported statistically significant results. In addition, many of these studies lacked information on tobacco use among miners. In contrast, studies conducted on the general public showed an association between mortality and hospital admissions, on the one hand, and residential radon on the other.

Conclusion: There are not enough studies to provide a basis for confirming or ruling out an association between radon exposure and COPD. Nonetheless, the most recent general population studies point to evidence of a possible association. In view of the heterogeneity of available studies, it is impossible to say whether this gas may or may not affect COPD morbidity and mortality, until such a time as further studies are carried out.

Keywords: COPD; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; radon; systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPCD). Burden of COPD. Available from: http://www.who.int/respiratory/copd/burden/en/. Accessed April21, 2020.
    1. Soriano JB, Abajobir AA, Abate KH, et al. Global, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2015. Lancet Respir Med. 2017;5(9):691–706. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30293-X - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Burney PGJ, Patel J, Newson R, Minelli C, Naghavi M. Global and regional trends in COPD mortality, 1990–2010. Eur Respir J. 2015;45(5):1239–1247. doi:10.1183/09031936.00142414 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Miravitlles M, Soriano JB, Garcia-Rio F, et al. Prevalence of COPD in Spain: impact of undiagnosed COPD on quality of life and daily life activities. Thorax. 2009;64(10):863–868. doi:10.1136/thx.2009.115725 - DOI - PubMed
    1. SEPAR. El infradiagnóstico de la EPOC asciende hasta el 81,7%, según datos preliminares del estudio EPISCAN II puesto en marcha por GSK en colaboración con SEPAR [Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://separ.es/?q=node/1139. Accessed April21, 2020.

Publication types

MeSH terms