SynthesisInternational archives of occupational and environmental health2023
Low-dose ionizing radiation and adverse birth outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in International archives of occupational and environmental health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exposure to radon and ambient particle radioactivity during pregnancy and adverse maternal, fetal and perinatal outcomes: The current literature and potential mechanisms.Environmental research · 2024Pooled it
- Germany's Epidemiological Data on Cleft Lip and Palate After the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A Systematic Literature Review.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- A Flowchart to Guide Emergency Physicians to Order Radiological Imaging in Pregnant Patients: Findings from an Emergency Department Questionnaire.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Exposure to protracted low-dose ionizing radiation and incident dementia in a cohort of Ontario nuclear power plant workers.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2025Article
- Preconception computed tomography exposure and risk of stillbirth in a nationwide population based cohort study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Pregnancy in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Narrative Review.Visceral medicine · 2025Review
- Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation and Male Reproductive Immunity: Elucidating Subtle Modulations and Long-Term Health Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Use of benefits during pregnancy: a cohort study in four organisations in Spain.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Association between occupational ionizing radiation exposure duration and the increased risk of dyslipidemia: evidence from a large group of radiation workers.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Prenatal environmental exposures and brain development: studies with baboons and other nonhuman primates.Advances in drug and alcohol research · 2025Review
- Associations Between Gestational Residential Radon Exposure and Term Low Birthweight in Connecticut, USA.Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2024Article
- Label-free monitoring of embolotherapy via catheter electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Monitoring of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Pregnancy: A Review of the Different Modalities.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIonizing radiation is a human carcinogen, and there is evidence that exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation increases the risk of adverse birth outcomes.
methodsWe undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize the research of maternal and paternal exposure to low-dose radiation on low birth weight, miscarriage, pre-term delivery, and stillbirth. Our literature search used four databases (PubMed, Environmental Index, GeoBASE, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature). We included study populations exposed to occupational and medical sources of radiation, nuclear disasters, and those living near nuclear power plants. We considered papers published between January 1st, 1990, and June 30th, 2021. The quality of the studies was assessed, and we performed meta-analysis using random effects models to generate summary measures of association. Forest plots were created to assess the heterogeneity in these measures, and funnel plots were used to assess publication bias.
resultsOverall, 26 studies were identified, and these yielded measures of association from 10, 11, and 8 studies for low birth weight, miscarriage, and stillbirth outcomes, respectively. It was not possible to perform meta-analyses for pre-term delivery due to a small number of studies. The meta-analysis summary relative risk (RR) of having a low-birth-weight infant among those ever exposed to radiation relative to those unexposed, after adjusting for publication bias, was 1.29 (95% CI 0.97-1.73). The corresponding risk estimates for miscarriage and stillbirth were 1.15 (95% CI 1.02-1.30), and 1.19 (95% CI 0.98-1.45), respectively.
conclusionsOur findings suggest that ionizing radiation increases the risk of adverse birth outcomes. Future work should strive to provide data needed to better understand the shape of the exposure-response curve.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.