Tian-Yu Shih1, Jay Wu, Chin-Shin Muo, Chia-Hung Kao. 1. Department of Radiology, Cheng Ching Hospital at Chung Kang and Graduate Institute of Clinical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Abstract
AIM: The frequency of employing radiography is increasing. Long-term risks of performing X-ray procedures on children and adolescents for medical diagnosis have raised significant concerns. METHODS: In this study, we adopt the case-control methodology to evaluate the relationship between the incidence rate of acute leukaemia and exposure to radiation during diagnostic X-ray examinations for children. Based on 1998-2010 data obtained from the Taiwan Bureau of National Health Insurance database, we selected 58 children with leukaemia and randomly selected an additional 232 children as the control group. RESULTS: The mean age of children with leukaemia is 8.92 ± 5.24 years. The risk of leukaemia in children who underwent X-ray examinations increased 2.14-fold (95% CI, 1.18-3.87). In this study, we identified that, when undergoing X-ray examinations, the risk of leukaemia in children increased for both sex and age groups. Specifically, the relationship between leukaemia and X-ray in boys (OR = 3.28, 95%CI, 1.33-8.07) and in ages of 6 to 11 years (OR = 2.58, 95%CI, 1.09-6.10) was significant. Overall, the risk of leukaemia in children who underwent X-ray examinations progressively increased from a ratio of 1.65 to 3.14. Moreover, an identical trend was observed for boys (1.85 to 6.42). CONCLUSION: Exposure to X-ray increased the risk of leukaemia in children.
AIM: The frequency of employing radiography is increasing. Long-term risks of performing X-ray procedures on children and adolescents for medical diagnosis have raised significant concerns. METHODS: In this study, we adopt the case-control methodology to evaluate the relationship between the incidence rate of acute leukaemia and exposure to radiation during diagnostic X-ray examinations for children. Based on 1998-2010 data obtained from the Taiwan Bureau of National Health Insurance database, we selected 58 children with leukaemia and randomly selected an additional 232 children as the control group. RESULTS: The mean age of children with leukaemia is 8.92 ± 5.24 years. The risk of leukaemia in children who underwent X-ray examinations increased 2.14-fold (95% CI, 1.18-3.87). In this study, we identified that, when undergoing X-ray examinations, the risk of leukaemia in children increased for both sex and age groups. Specifically, the relationship between leukaemia and X-ray in boys (OR = 3.28, 95%CI, 1.33-8.07) and in ages of 6 to 11 years (OR = 2.58, 95%CI, 1.09-6.10) was significant. Overall, the risk of leukaemia in children who underwent X-ray examinations progressively increased from a ratio of 1.65 to 3.14. Moreover, an identical trend was observed for boys (1.85 to 6.42). CONCLUSION: Exposure to X-ray increased the risk of leukaemia in children.
Authors: Mark P Little; Richard Wakeford; Simon D Bouffler; Kossi Abalo; Michael Hauptmann; Nobuyuki Hamada; Gerald M Kendall Journal: Sci Total Environ Date: 2022-03-26 Impact factor: 10.753