Eliminating the stigma: A systematic review of the health effects of low-dose radiation within the diagnostic imaging department and its implications for the future of medical radiation |
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| Institution: | 1. Texas Radiology Associates, Plano, Texas, USA;2. Midwestern State University, Gunn College of Health Sciences and Human Services, The Shimadzu School of Radiologic Sciences, Wichita Falls, Texas, USA;1. Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas;2. Department of Health Services Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas;3. William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada;1. Department of Radiology, Children''s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA;2. Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA;1. Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;2. University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundLow-dose radiation exposure to Canadians is exponentially increasing due to the influx of diagnostic imaging and medical procedures that utilize radiation. Despite the use of medical radiation since 1896, the standardized acceptable dose for the Canadian public is still debated. The current annual dose limit for the public is set at 1 millisievert (mSv). This set dose limit intrinsically restricts the use of medical radiation for diagnosis due to concerns of public health.MethodsThis systematic review is in the form of a retrospective meta-analysis of previous experimental studies and observational reviews of low-dose radiation health effects. A database search using PubMed and Medscape identified 1,296 articles using the terms “low-dose radiation”, “radiation hormesis”, “radiation safety”, “dose exposure”, and “medical radiation”. Full text articles were excluded for the following reasons: radiation dose level not <100mSv, results of radiation effects not included, or no inclusion of biologic effects on living tissue. After screening, 15 studies were selected for inclusion.ResultsThe concerns of radiation exposure are based on epidemiological and experimental studies that have indicated that high-dose ionizing radiation has toxic effects and increases cancer risk. In contrast, low-dose radiation has experimentally demonstrated various beneficial effects through a combination of molecular and cohort studies, randomized control trials, and observational analysis. The limitation of radiation in medical imaging is founded on the assumption that low-dose radiation health risks are a linear extrapolation of high-dose radiation.Discussion/conclusionsThrough a systematic review of research, it is proposed that the current dose-response extrapolation for radiation-related health risks cannot be linearly based on the effects at high doses. By altering this knowledge, we could effectively improve patient diagnosis and public health by redefining the restrictions of current radiation limits within diagnostic imaging. |
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| Keywords: | Hormesis radiation exposure public health diagnostic imaging |
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