Radiation Epidemiology

Contents

In the module radiation epidemiology, participants will learn the physical and biological background of exposure to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, epidemiological approaches for investigating the health effects and current findings from research on these exposures.

The module contains:

• A short introduction into radiation physics and radiation biology with special emphasis on types, sources and distribution of radiation as well as the biological effects of exposure;
• Classical epidemiological methods, special risk measures (e.g. the excess relative risk), modeling approaches (e.g. the internal Poisson regression for grouped data), which are used in radiation epidemiology, as well as methods for estimating and handling measurement errors and uncertainties;
• An overview of epidemiological findings on different types of radiation. Evidence on health effects of ionizing radiation is derived from studying a-bomb survivors, uranium miners, radon in homes and the impact of medical radiation (e.g. CT scans). Epidemiological findings on non-ionizing radiation, including UV radiation and radiation from electromagnetic fields, are also discussed.

Requirements

The students will be actively involved in most sessions through pair work, group work, etc. Thus, readiness for active engagement in the course is the major prerequisite for participation. Besides, basic knowledge about fundamentals of epidemiology (e.g., study design, bias, confounding) is helpful.

Certificate

Participants will receive a certificate of attendance.

Language

English