Division of Medical and Occupational Radiation Protection, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Oberschleißheim, Germany.
Radiation Protection Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA.
Int J Radiat Biol. 2024;100(9):1276-1282. doi: 10.1080/09553002.2023.2280017. Epub 2023 Nov 16.
The impact of the exposure to ionizing radiation in the offspring and next generation has been investigated in the last decades and currently is the subject of study of the ICRP Task Group 121. Studying the effects of radiation exposure in pre-conceptional and post-conceptional phases can be a challenge since potential effects to the fetus vary depending on the stage of fetal development. Epidemiology and radiobiology studies are the two sources of information one can use to correlate the radiation dose to the human body and tissues and the resulting effects. For a proper evaluation of the outcomes of such studies, and a correct appraisal of the exposure/dose-effect relationship, (i) reliable dosimetry, (ii) accurate reporting, and (iii) reproducibility of results are required. Although variables related to dose, including for instance source of radiation, geometry of irradiation, dose rate etc., are usually known, especially in radiobiology studies, often important details of the irradiation are not reported.
Based on standards developed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a review of the scientific studies used by the UNSCEAR to estimate the risk of hereditary effects, and by the ICRP in its current recommendations, was conducted to evaluate the way dosimetry was reported. Dosimetry and the related uncertainties were not adequately described in the vast majority of those studies. This does not necessarily mean that they do not provide relevant information, however it prevents from a thorough verification and reproduction of their findings. In order to guarantee the reliability and robustness of the process of revision of the estimates of risk and detriment it is therefore considered mandatory to include a careful check of the new relevant literature with regard to the criteria on the completeness and reproducibility of the dosimetric information.
在过去几十年中，人们研究了电离辐射对后代和下一代的影响，目前这也是国际辐射防护委员会（ICRP）第 121 工作组的研究课题。由于胎儿受辐射的潜在影响因胎儿发育阶段而异，因此研究受孕前和受孕后的辐射暴露情况可能具有挑战性。流行病学和放射生物学研究是人们可以用来将人体和组织的辐射剂量与相关结果进行关联的两种信息来源。为了正确评估这些研究的结果，并正确评估暴露/剂量-效应关系，（i）需要可靠的剂量测定，（ii）需要准确的报告，以及（iii）需要结果的可重复性。尽管与剂量相关的变量，包括例如辐射源、照射几何形状、剂量率等，通常是已知的，尤其是在放射生物学研究中，但通常不会报告照射的重要细节。
根据美国国立癌症研究所（NCI）、美国国立过敏和传染病研究所（NIAID）和美国国家标准与技术研究院（NIST）制定的标准，对 UNSCEAR 用于估计遗传效应风险的科学研究以及 ICRP 在其当前建议中使用的科学研究进行了审查，以评估剂量测定的报告方式。在这些研究中，剂量测定及其相关不确定性在绝大多数情况下都没有得到充分描述。这并不一定意味着它们没有提供相关信息，但这阻止了对其结果的彻底验证和再现。为了保证风险和危害估计修订过程的可靠性和稳健性，因此有必要根据剂量测定信息的完整性和可重复性标准，仔细检查新的相关文献。
