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Association between leukaemia and X ‐ray in children: A nationwide study
Author(s) -
Shih TianYu,
Wu Jay,
Muo ChinShin,
Kao ChiaHung
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.12605
Subject(s) - medicine , incidence (geometry) , pediatrics , radiation exposure , nuclear medicine , optics , physics
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 T aiwan B ureau of N ational H ealth I nsurance 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.