Risk of lung cancer is much less in people living at higher altitudes, in both smokers and non-smokers, suggesting that oxygen may promote the incidence of lung cancer.
![Risk of Lung Cancer Less in People Living at Higher Altitudes Risk of Lung Cancer Less in People Living at Higher Altitudes](https://images.medindia.net/health-images/1200_1000/lung-cancer-1.jpg)
The researchers did not find similar pronounced effects for elevation on colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer, all of which are also prevalent in the United States.
Kamen P. Simeonov said that lower atmospheric pressure at higher elevations results in less inhaled oxygen, sometimes as much as one-third less than low-elevation areas and this factor might explain why lung cancer incidence rates decrease as geographic elevation increases, but not rates for such equally pernicious cancers as colorectal, breast, and prostate.
Other factors studied include amount of sunlight, precipitation, temperature, and pollution. For lung cancer, elevation performed by far the best. The second best (radon) was 10 caret 8 times worse. Sunlight was over 10 caret 13 times worse.
The study is published online on PeerJ.
Source-ANI