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A Holistic Protocol for SIBO Recovery: Phase 2 – Addressing Root Causes of Recurrence

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CT Scans & Lifetime Health Risk

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Results of a model assessing the lifetime risk of cancer caused by the current rate of computed tomography (CT) examinations in the United States were recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Despite the clear benefits of CT, the exposure to ionizing radiation increases the risk for cancer, and this analysis tried to quantify the population risk using data from 2023. 

Using data from the University of California San Francisco International CT Dose Registry combined with a national annual survey of 235 hospitals and 78 imaging facilities, estimates were made of the number of CT scans performed, radiation by sex, age, body region, mean organ doses of radiation absorbed, etc.  

Ninety-three million CT scans were performed in 2023 in over 61 million individuals, approximately 4% of whom were children. These scans were estimated to cause nearly 103,000 lifetime cancers, of which almost 10,000 would be in children. The most common adult cancers include lung cancer, colon cancer, and leukemia, while thyroid, lung, and breast cancer were the most frequent projected cancers in children. The greatest risk from a single CT is to individuals receiving CT at the beginning of life; for example, among girls younger than 1 receiving CT, the projected risk would be 20 cancers per 1000 examinations, in comparison to 2 per 1000 in girls aged 15-17. However, because adults receive more CT exams, the highest number of projected cancers is due to exams in adults aged 50 to 59. If cancer rates remain stable, this widespread use of CT may be responsible for 5% of all cancers in the U.S., a rate 3-4 times previously predicted. This study emphasizes the importance of appropriate justification for all CT exams.

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