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KMID : 1156220230490010001
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Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
2023 Volume.49 No. 1 p.1 ~ p.10
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Epidemiology of Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation Exposure and Health Effects
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Lee Won-Jin
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Abstract
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Low-dose radiation exposure has received considerable attention because it ref lects the general public’s type and level of exposure. Still, controversy remains due to the relatively unclear results and uncertainty in risk estimation compared to high-dose radiation. However, recent epidemiological studies report direct evidence of health effects for various types of low-dose radiation exposure. In particular, international nuclear workers’ studies, CT exposure studies, and children’s cancer studies on natural radiation showed significantly increased cancer risk among the study populations despite their low-dose radiation exposure.
These studies showed similar results even when the cumulative radiation dose was limited to an exposure group of less than 100 mGy, demonstrating that the observed excess risk was not affected by high exposure.
A linear dose-response relationship between radiation exposure and cancer incidence has been observed, even at the low-dose interval. These recent epidemiological studies include relatively large populations, and findings are broadly consistent with previous studies on Japanese atomic bomb survivors. However, the health effects of low-dose radiation are assumed to be small compared to the risks that may arise from other lifestyle factors; therefore, the benefits of radiation use should be considered at the individual level through a balanced interpretation. Further low-dose radiation studies are essential to accurately determining the benefits and risks of radiation.
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KEYWORD
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Cancer, causality, epidemiology, ionizing radiation, risk
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