Intergenerational effects of ionizing radiation: review of recent studies from human data (2018-2021)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to conduct a review of the studies published between 2018 and 2022 to investigate radiation-related effects in the offspring of human individuals exposed to ionizing radiation.MethodsThe search identified 807 publications, from which 9 studies were selected for detailed analysis to examine for effects in children whose parents were exposed to various types and doses of radiation.ResultsThe review does not yield substantial evidence supporting intergenerational effects of radiation exposure in humans. However, caution is required when interpreting the results due to limitations in the majority of the published articles.ConclusionThis review, covering the period 2018-2022, serves as an extension of the previous systematic review conducted by Stephens et al. (2024), which encompassed the years 1988-2018. Together, these two papers offer a comprehensive overview of the available evidence regarding the intergenerational effects of parental pre-conceptional exposure to ionizing radiation. Overall, the findings do not provide strong evidence supporting a significant association between adverse (or other) outcomes in unexposed children and parental preconception radiation exposure.