Low Dose Radiation Epidemiology: What Can It Tell Us?

Hall, Eric J.; Metting, N. F.; Puskin, Jerome S.; Ron, Elaine

doi:10.1667/rr1777.1

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…If established, such connection would argue for the limited use of CT scans to those cases when they are absolutely necessary. Currently, in the U.S., it has been estimated that about one-third of CT scans are medically unnecessary (11). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical Diagnostic Radiation Exposures and Risk of Gliomas

et al. 2011

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High-dose ionizing radiation is an established risk factor for glioma, but it remains unknown whether moderate- and low-dose radiation increase glioma risk. In this analysis, we assessed the evidence that self-reported exposures to diagnostic ionizing radiation, including computerized tomography (CT) scans, is associated with increased risk of adult glioma. While no independent association was observed for CT scans alone (3+ scans compared to none P = 0.08 and 1–2 scans compared to none P = 0.68), our findings suggest an increased risk of adult gliomas with cumulative exposure to three or more CT scans to the head and neck region (OR = 1.97, 95% CI: 0.92–4.23) limited to those who reported a family history of cancer: the P value for the interaction between having three or more CT scans and family history of cancer was 0.08. The stratum-specific adjusted OR for those with family history of cancer was more than three times that for the sub-group without family history of cancer. While there is some potential for symptom-related bias, one might expect this to be present for all diagnostic procedures rather than specific to one procedure. The interaction between CT scans and glioma with family history of cancer supports the biological plausibility of our findings, because similar results have been found for breast cancer and radiation. This observational data will increase awareness about potential risks associated with CT scans and the need to minimize the use of unnecessary examinations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical Diagnostic Radiation Exposures and Risk of Gliomas

et al. 2011

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“…Two recent contemporary reports by advisory committees came to opposite conclusions regarding the use of the LNT model and the carcinogenicity of LDR (Tubiana, 2005;NRC, 2006). A recent workshop reviewing the results of epidemiological studies could not come to a definitive conclusion about LDR cancer risk in spite of evaluating studies lasting for many decades (Hall et al, 2009), again indicating the need for high quality prospective studies to determine the health effects of LDR in humans.…”

Section: Inability To Study Ldr Prospectively In Humans Resulted In Lmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correcting Systemic Deficiencies in our Scientific Infrastructure

Doss¹

2013

Dose-Response

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ᮀ Scientific method is inherently self-correcting. When different hypotheses are proposed, their study would result in the rejection of the invalid ones. If the study of a competing hypothesis is prevented because of the faith in an unverified one, scientific progress is stalled. This has happened in the study of low dose radiation. Though radiation hormesis was hypothesized to reduce cancers in 1980, it could not be studied in humans because of the faith in the unverified linear no-threshold model hypothesis, likely resulting in over 15 million preventable cancer deaths worldwide during the past two decades, since evidence has accumulated supporting the validity of the phenomenon of radiation hormesis. Since our society has been guided by scientific advisory committees that ostensibly follow the scientific method, the long duration of such large casualties is indicative of systemic deficiencies in the infrastructure that has evolved in our society for the application of science. Some of these deficiencies have been identified in a few elements of the scientific infrastructure, and remedial steps suggested. Identifying and correcting such deficiencies may prevent similar tolls in the future.

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“…The effect of pediatric CT scans upon the risk of childhood leukemia should, if conventional predictions are correct, be capable of detection by sufficiently large case–control studies if the population prevalence of the procedures is high enough, and such studies are underway [24]. It is ironic that it is half a century since case–control studies of childhood leukemia and antenatal diagnostic x-rays found an association (when the population prevalence of such examinations was ~10%) and this association forms part of the evidence to support the application of risk models derived from moderate-to-high doses to the low-dose region – the region of CT scan exposure.…”

Section: Implications For Radiographymentioning

confidence: 99%