Exposure to Radiation Causes More Long-Term Health Complications for Women Than Men

Amanda Nichols

A new study from Amanda Nichols, postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Mary Olson, founder of the Gender and Radiation Impact Project based in Asheville, North Carolina, has uncovered a correlation between harm from exposure to ionizing radiation and biological sex, with women more likely than men to experience severe health complications.

The study builds on the findings of the “Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation VII” study published by the National Academy of Sciences in 2006, which analyzed 60 years of data regarding atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Mary Olson

Dr. Nichols and Olson’s post-2006 research revealed evidence that radiation exposure causes more cancer, heart disease, and stroke in women compared to men. The authors also found that age at time of exposure has a significant impact on radiation outcomes, with girls under the age of 5 having the highest risk of both cancer and non-cancer related health complications over the course of their lifetimes.

One theory as to why these disparities exist is because women have more radio-sensitive reproductive tissue than men. While this could be one contributing factor, the authors call out the hypothesis cannot be the only determining factor in women’s greater incidence of harm from radiation as the theory does not explain disparities in cardiovascular and other non-reproductive-related complications. Dr. Nichols and Olson stress that further investigation in this area is critical for the future of radiation research and radiological protection standards.