A study conducted by Communications Biology analyzing blood of 14 astronauts cold-stored at -80 degrees Celsius (-112 degrees Fahrenheit, 32 degrees is freezing) from missions completed between 1998 and 2001 found a higher frequency of somatic mutation from the aged samples when compared with peers. The somatic mutations can create more risk for developing cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer.
The study was conducted as the need for understanding risk of space travel becomes relevant and necessary with commercial flights and long-term Moon and Mars travel on the horizon. The study focused on missions of short duration. The average length of each mission was 12 days and median age of all mission astronauts, not necessarily sample astronauts, was 42. Six of the 14 sample astronauts were on their inaugural missions.
The samples revealed higher than usual biomarkers indicating somatic mutations. The study notes similar mutations can occur at random, due to environmental stressors and with aging, however, the high frequency is not common with peer samples. "We detected variants in 17 of the 37 genes represented in the panel ... In contrast, a population-based CH study of middle-aged participants (median age 58 years, range from 19 to 108) showed [mutation in only 4 vs. 17 genes]."
The study says the findings, and study limitations (small sample size and lack of longitudinal samples), along with the imminent commercialization and increased frequency of long and short duration space travel warrants additional research.
Source
Brojakowska, A., Kour, A., Thel, M.C. et al. Retrospective analysis of somatic mutations and clonal hematopoiesis in astronauts. Commun Biol5, 828 (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03777-z
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