title: Effect of low doses of ionising radiation in infancy on cognitive function in adulthood: Swedish population based cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether exposure to low doses of ionising radiation in infancy affects cognitive function in adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population based cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  3094 men who had received radiation for cutaneous haemangioma before age 18 months during 1930-59.
  
  
  METHODS
  Radiation dose to frontal and posterior parts of the brain, and association between dose and intellectual capacity at age 18 or 19 years based on cognitive tests (learning ability, logical reasoning, spatial recognition) and high school attendance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of boys who attended high school decreased with increasing doses of radiation to both the frontal and the posterior parts of the brain from about 32% among those not exposed to around 17% in those who received > 250 mGy. For the frontal dose, the multivariate odds ratio was 0.47 (95% confidence interval 0.26 to 0.85, P for trend 0.0003) and for the posterior dose it was 0.59 (0.23 to 1.47, 0.0005). A negative dose-response relation was also evident for the three cognitive tests for learning ability and logical reasoning but not for the test of spatial recognition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low doses of ionising radiation to the brain in infancy influence cognitive abilities in adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, PO Box 281, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. Per.Hall@mep.ki.se
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Hans-Olov
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Adami
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Trichopoulos
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Pagona
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lagiou
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ekbom
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ingvar
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lundell
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Granath
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000528:radiation effects*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D006391:Hemangioma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007360:Intelligence / Q000528:radiation effects; D008297:Male; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology