I’m not a statistics expert, so very possibly bad wording or outright errors ahead.
Versus non-drinkers,
1 drink a day increases the absolute risk of getting cancer by 2%
2 drinks a day increases the absolute risk of getting cancer by 5%
Unfortunately, I’m having trouble finding the absolute risk increase for a single CT scan… But I think it is around 0.1%. This is based on the recent JAMA study that said that the scans from a given year (about 93 million of them) would it in 103000 future cancers developing.
A couple of takeaways: on an individual basis the risk of developing cancer from a CT scan is pretty low. On a population scale, its pretty damn high. Also though the increased chance is low (especially compared to the numbers above for alcohol) it’s actually pretty significant if you consider it takes just one scan.
Ballpark, you might be talking the equivalent of 3 drinks a month?
It’s an interesting question. I actually turned down a CT scan recently because it wasn’t clear what the benefits of knowing the results would be, versus this extra risk.
I’m not a statistics expert, so very possibly bad wording or outright errors ahead.
Versus non-drinkers, 1 drink a day increases the absolute risk of getting cancer by 2% 2 drinks a day increases the absolute risk of getting cancer by 5%
(https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet)
Unfortunately, I’m having trouble finding the absolute risk increase for a single CT scan… But I think it is around 0.1%. This is based on the recent JAMA study that said that the scans from a given year (about 93 million of them) would it in 103000 future cancers developing.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2832778
A couple of takeaways: on an individual basis the risk of developing cancer from a CT scan is pretty low. On a population scale, its pretty damn high. Also though the increased chance is low (especially compared to the numbers above for alcohol) it’s actually pretty significant if you consider it takes just one scan.
Ballpark, you might be talking the equivalent of 3 drinks a month?
It’s an interesting question. I actually turned down a CT scan recently because it wasn’t clear what the benefits of knowing the results would be, versus this extra risk.