Current trends in survivorship of radiologists. Final report

A study was made of the deaths of physicians who entered the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the American College of Physicians (ACP), the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology (AAOO), the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS), and the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists (AAPB) societies from the 1900's through 1969. The findings indicated an excess risk of cancer and of all-cause mortality in radiologists. The early cohorts of radiologists showed a significant excess risk of leukemia, skin cancer, and aplastic anemia compared to the other groups of physicians. After 1940, all entrants into these cohorts demonstrated no excess risk of leukemia. An excess risk of multiple myeloma appeared in radiologists and a slight excess in otolaryngologists. In radiologists, the risk of all cause mortality appeared to begin about 8 to 9 years following entrance into the specialty and remained higher through the life span of those involved in this field; the high risk of all cancers appears to occur 10 to 12 years after entering the specialty