If You Torture Your Data Long Enough, It Will Confess to Anything: On the Epidemiological Basis of the LNT Model.

Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 2985093R Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1538-5159 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00179078 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Health Phys Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: <2003->: Hagerstown, MD : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Original Publication: New York.

Models, Statistical*; Humans ; Atomic Bomb Survivors/statistics & numerical data ; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation ; Animals ; United States/epidemiology ; Radiation Exposure/adverse effects ; Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced/epidemiology ; Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced/etiology

This note deals with epidemiological data interpretation supporting the linear no-threshold model, as opposed to emerging evidence of adaptive response and hormesis from molecular biology in vitro and animal models. Particularly, the US-Japan Radiation Effects Research Foundation's lifespan study of atomic bomb survivors is scrutinized. We stress the years-long lag of the data processing after data gathering and evolving statistical models and methodologies across publications. The necessity of cautious interpretation of radiation epidemiology results is emphasized.
Competing Interests: The author declares no conflicts of interest.
(Copyright © 2024 Health Physics Society.)

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Date Created: 20240403 Date Completed: 20240424 Latest Revision: 20240424

20240425

10.1097/HP.0000000000001775

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