Evaluation of Effects of Diagnostic Exposure Using Data from Epidemiological Registry of Ozyorsk Population Exposed to Computed Tomography

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the contribution of low doses of diagnostic radiation due to computed tomography to carcinogenic risk among population of Ozersk. Material and methods: The study describes the results of the analysis of data from the radiation-epidemiological register created in the laboratory of radiation epidemiology of the Southern Urals Biophysics Institute of Ozersk. The register contains information on 26,626 CT examinations of Ozersk residents of all age groups, including children under 1 year old, carried out in medical departments of the Chelyabinsk region during the period from 1993 to 2018. Results: Based on the analyzed medical and dosimetric information from the CT Register database, the chances of malignant neoplasms among patients exposed to diagnostic irradiation during computed tomography were assessed taking into account the presence of the main radiation and non-radiation factors (age, sex, occupational exposure, number of CT examinations, effective dose and DLP). Conclusion: In a cohort of Ozersk residents who were exposed to low doses of diagnostic radiation during computed tomography, a statistically significant effect of sex and age attained to malignant neoplasm was obtained. Also, a significant relationship was found between the effective dose from diagnostic CT and the likelihood of subsequent cancer development diagnosed no earlier than 2 years after the first CT examination. At the same time, the DLP did not statistically significantly increase the chances of developing a malignant neoplasm in the study cohort for both the population and the personnel of the Mayak PA.