EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 27 JANUARY 2000 AT 19:00 ET US
Contact: Jill Shepherd
jshepherd@bmj.com
44-171-383-6529
BMJ-British Medical JournalNo link between ultrasound and risk of childhood leukaemia
Prenatal ultrasound examinations and risk of childhood leukaemia: case-control study
Reassuring research conducted by a team in Sweden and published in this week's BMJ finds no association between prenatal exposure to ultrasound and childhood leukaemias.
Dr Estelle Naumburg and colleagues from Uppsala University and the Karolinska Institute say that previously there have been concerns over a possible association between exposure to ultrasound in utero and an increased risk of childhood malignancies. But they have not been substantiated, say the authors and so they set out to establish whether there was any evidence to suggest a link.
In their nationwide study Naumburg et al found similar rates of leukaemia in children who had and in those who had not been exposed ultrasound scanning. Based on their findings they conclude that there is no evidence to suggest that single or repeated exposure to ultrasound, early or late in pregnancy, influences the risk of subsequent development of childhood leukaemia.
Contact:
Dr Estelle Naumburg, Paediatrician, Department of Women's Health, Section for Paediatrics, Uppsala University, Sweden
Email: Estelle.Naumburg@pediatrik.uu.se
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