Radiation Exposure and Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer in Early NASA Astronauts: Space for Exploration

Of the many possible health challenges posed during extended exploratory missions to space, the effects of space radiation on cardiovascular disease and cancer are of particular concern. There are unique challenges to estimating those radiation risks; care and appropriate and rigorous methodology should be applied when considering small cohorts such as the NASA astronaut population. The objective of this work was to establish whether there is evidence for excess cardiovascular disease or cancer mortality in an early NASA astronaut cohort and determine if a correlation exists between space radiation exposure and mortality.