Risk of Developing Non-Cancerous Central Nervous System Diseases Due to Ionizing Radiation Exposure during Adulthood: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses

Abstract

Background: High-dose ionizing radiation (IR) (>0.5 Gy) is an established risk factor for cognitive impairments, but this cannot be concluded for low-to-moderate IR exposure (pooled per 100 mGy = 0.04; 95% CI: 0.03–0.05; ERRpooled at 100 mGy = 0.01; 95% CI: −0.00–0.02, respectively) and for Parkinson’s disease (ERRpooled at 100 mGy = 0.11; 95% CI: 0.06–0.16); Conclusions: Our findings suggest that adult low-to-moderate IR exposure may have effects on non-cancerous CNS diseases. Further research addressing inherent variation issues is encouraged.

Keywords

• systematic review
• meta-analyses
• ionizing radiation
• central nervous system
• mental health
• cognitive disorders