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A union representing the nation’s flight attendants has called for more health protections for its members, following a study that ties working as a flight attendant to an increased risk of developing breast and skin cancer. The study, produced by researchers from Harvard University’s School of Public Health, supported the findings of other studies dating back to 2007 and said the risk of cancer is tied to the length of time flight…

Continue reading “LA Times | Flight attendants call for action in response to study that finds the job comes with high cancer risk”

Research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has found that flight attendants have higher rates of several types of cancer than the general population, especially melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, and for female flight attendants, breast cancer. The link between flight attendants and cancer has been studied for more than a decade, but this is one of the largest studies so far, and the first to find a link to higher…

Continue reading “Cancer.org | Study Examines Cancer Rates Among Flight Attendants”

new study has found that American flight attendants are more likely than the general population to develop several cancers, including breast cancer, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. According to Alice Park of Time, the new report, published recently in the journal Environmental Health, is based on data collected by the Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study (FAHS), which was launched in 2007. The researchers behind the study sought to shed light on an understudied…

Continue reading “Smithsonian Magazine | Flight Attendants May Face Increased Risk for Many Cancers, Study Finds”

Working at 36,000 feet may come with a medical issue: flight attendants could be at an increased cancer risk compared to those of us who don’t fly as often, a new study finds. This study surveyed more than 5,300 flight attendants (80% were female), and compared them to around 2,700 people who had similar income and educational status but worked on the ground, as part of the Harvard Flight Attendant…

Continue reading “ABC News | Flight attendants may have increased risk for certain cancers: Study”

A study by a group of researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that flight attendants are at a higher risk of getting cancer than the general population. The study, published in the journal Environmental Health today, used data from the Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study and found that the group had a higher incidence of every kind of cancer they looked at. Flight attendants’ risk of breast cancer,…

Continue reading “Fortune | Flight Attendants Have a Higher Risk of Certain Types of Cancers. Here Are a Few Possible Reasons Why”

American flight attendants have a higher prevalence of several forms of cancer, including breast, uterine, gastrointestinal, thyroid, and cervical cancers, when compared with the general public, according to new research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The analysis, one of the largest studies of cancer among cabin crew members to date, is the first to show that U.S. flight attendants also have an elevated rate of non-melanoma skin cancer.…

Continue reading “Harvard Gazette | Flight attendants have higher rates of breast, uterine, other cancers”

Flight attendants are exposed to a number of known cancer-causing risks, but few studies have rigorously quantified that risk, and researchers say they are an understudied occupational group. The Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study (FAHS), begun in 2007, addresses some of the gaps in understanding health risks among flight attendants. In the latest report, published in the journal Environmental Health, researchers found that flight attendants had higher rates of many cancers, including…

Continue reading “Time | Flight Attendants Have Higher Rates of Many Cancers, Study Says”

What does it mean to be well? Not just “not ill,” but really thriving? Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and at Aetna are embarking on a collaborative, multi-year study of well-being intended both to advance scientific understanding of what it means to be truly healthy across numerous dimensions and to translate that knowledge into practice.The principal investigators at Harvard Chan School plan to develop a comprehensive assessment that…

Continue reading “HSPH News | What makes us truly happy and healthy?”

Alaska Airlines flight attendants began reporting symptoms such as itchy eyes, rashes, and shortness of breath soon after the company introduced new uniforms in 2011. Although the uniforms were replaced three years later, the company didn’t acknowledge a possible connection between the introduction of the uniforms and the spike in health complaints. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) agreed, ruling that there wasn’t enough evidence to establish a link.…

Continue reading “HSPH News | Documenting Health Risks at 35,000 Feet”