Overview
- The JAMA Internal Medicine analysis published Monday found flight attendants and pilots ranked first and second out of 503 U.S. occupations for deaths from cancers tied to ionizing radiation.
- Researchers used National Vital Statistics death‑certificate data for nearly 13 million U.S. deaths from 2020–2024 and identified about 14,000 pilots and 7,000 flight attendants in the records.
- Flight attendants had roughly 50% higher odds and pilots about 36% higher odds of dying from radiation‑related cancers, with about 6.9% of attendant deaths and 6.7% of pilot deaths from those cancers.
- The authors and outside experts point to cumulative cosmic ionizing radiation at ~30,000+ feet—higher on polar and ultra‑long‑haul routes—as the leading occupational explanation while noting the study cannot measure individual doses or fully exclude other factors like UV through windows or circadian disruption.
- Reporters and unions say the findings strengthen calls for U.S. protections such as individual dose estimation, routine monitoring and records, adjusted scheduling for high‑dose routes and pregnancy, and targeted cancer screening for aircrew.