Health risks for medical personnel due to magnetic fields in magnetic resonance imaging
Abstract
Health risks for medical personnel due to magnetic fields in magnetic resonance imaging König AM, Pöschke A, Mahnken AH. Health risks for medical personnel due to magnetic fields in magnetic resonance imaging. Rofo. 2024 Jul 19. English, German. doi: 10.1055/a-2296-3860. Abstract The current state of medical and scientific knowledge on the effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields on workers in the field of clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is summarized here.A systematic literature search was conducted to analyze the health risks to medical personnel from magnetic fields in MRI. A total of 7273 sources were identified, with 7139 being excluded after screening of the title and abstract. After full-text screening, 34 sources remained and were included in this paper. There are a number of scientific publications on the occurrence of short-term sensory effects such as vertigo, metallic taste, phosphenes as well as on the occurrence of neurocognitive and neurobehavioral effects. For example, short-term exposure to clinical magnetic fields has been reported to result in a 4% reduction in speed and precision and a 16% reduction in visual contrast sensitivity at close range. Both eye-hand precision and coordination speed are affected. The long-term studies concern, among other things, the influence of magnetic fields on sleep quality, which could be linked to an increased risk of accidents. The data on the exposure of healthcare workers to magnetic fields during pregnancy is consistently outdated. However, it has been concluded that there are no particular deviations with regard to the duration of pregnancy, premature births, miscarriages, and birth weight. Epidemiological studies are lacking. With a focus on healthcare personnel, there is a considerable need for high-quality data, particularly on the consequences of long-term exposure to electromagnetic fields from clinical MRI and the effects on pregnancy. Key points • Short-term sensory effects such as vertigo, metallic taste, phosphenes as well as neurocognitive and neurological behavioral effects may occur upon exposure to magnetic fields. • Long-term effects mainly concern quality of sleep, which can be associated with an increased risk of accidents. • When pregnant women were exposed to magnetic fields, no particular deviations were found with regard to the duration of pregnancy, premature births, miscarriages, and birth weight. Open access paper: thieme-connect.com 3860?articleLanguage=en
AI evidence extraction
Main findings
This systematic review reports that short-term sensory effects (e.g., vertigo, metallic taste, phosphenes) and neurocognitive/neurobehavioral effects have been described in medical personnel exposed to clinical MRI magnetic fields, including reported reductions in speed/precision and visual contrast sensitivity in some studies. Long-term studies discussed mainly relate to sleep quality, which the authors note could be associated with increased accident risk. For pregnancy exposure, the review states that available data are outdated but concludes no particular deviations were found for gestation duration, preterm birth, miscarriage, or birth weight; the authors emphasize a lack of epidemiological studies and a need for higher-quality long-term data.
Outcomes measured
- Short-term sensory effects (e.g., vertigo, metallic taste, phosphenes)
- Neurocognitive and neurobehavioral performance (e.g., speed/precision, eye-hand coordination, visual contrast sensitivity)
- Sleep quality (long-term)
- Accident risk (linked to sleep quality)
- Pregnancy outcomes (duration of pregnancy, premature birth, miscarriage, birth weight)
Limitations
- Epidemiological studies are lacking (as stated).
- Data on exposure during pregnancy are consistently outdated (as stated).
- Considerable need for high-quality data on long-term exposure consequences (as stated).
Suggested hubs
-
occupational-exposure
(0.95) Focuses on health risks to medical personnel from MRI-related magnetic field exposure.
View raw extracted JSON
{
"publication_year": 2024,
"study_type": "systematic_review",
"exposure": {
"band": null,
"source": "occupational (clinical MRI)",
"frequency_mhz": null,
"sar_wkg": null,
"duration": null
},
"population": "Medical personnel/healthcare workers in clinical MRI settings (including pregnancy exposure in healthcare workers)",
"sample_size": null,
"outcomes": [
"Short-term sensory effects (e.g., vertigo, metallic taste, phosphenes)",
"Neurocognitive and neurobehavioral performance (e.g., speed/precision, eye-hand coordination, visual contrast sensitivity)",
"Sleep quality (long-term)",
"Accident risk (linked to sleep quality)",
"Pregnancy outcomes (duration of pregnancy, premature birth, miscarriage, birth weight)"
],
"main_findings": "This systematic review reports that short-term sensory effects (e.g., vertigo, metallic taste, phosphenes) and neurocognitive/neurobehavioral effects have been described in medical personnel exposed to clinical MRI magnetic fields, including reported reductions in speed/precision and visual contrast sensitivity in some studies. Long-term studies discussed mainly relate to sleep quality, which the authors note could be associated with increased accident risk. For pregnancy exposure, the review states that available data are outdated but concludes no particular deviations were found for gestation duration, preterm birth, miscarriage, or birth weight; the authors emphasize a lack of epidemiological studies and a need for higher-quality long-term data.",
"effect_direction": "mixed",
"limitations": [
"Epidemiological studies are lacking (as stated).",
"Data on exposure during pregnancy are consistently outdated (as stated).",
"Considerable need for high-quality data on long-term exposure consequences (as stated)."
],
"evidence_strength": "high",
"confidence": 0.7800000000000000266453525910037569701671600341796875,
"peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
"stance": "neutral",
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"summary": "This paper presents a systematic review of health risks to medical personnel from magnetic fields in clinical MRI, based on 34 included sources from a larger screened literature. It reports that short-term sensory symptoms and neurocognitive/neurobehavioral effects have been described, and that long-term research discussed mainly concerns sleep quality. It also concludes that, despite outdated pregnancy-exposure data, no particular deviations were found in several pregnancy outcomes, while emphasizing the need for higher-quality long-term and epidemiological evidence.",
"key_points": [
"A systematic literature search identified 7273 sources, with 34 included after full-text screening.",
"Short-term sensory effects (e.g., vertigo, metallic taste, phosphenes) are reported in the MRI occupational exposure literature.",
"Neurocognitive and neurobehavioral effects are described, including reported reductions in speed/precision and visual contrast sensitivity in some studies.",
"Eye-hand precision and coordination speed are reported as affected in the reviewed literature.",
"Long-term studies discussed mainly address sleep quality, which the authors note could be linked to accident risk.",
"Pregnancy exposure data are described as outdated, but the review reports no particular deviations in gestation duration, preterm birth, miscarriage, or birth weight.",
"The authors highlight a considerable need for high-quality data on long-term exposure and pregnancy-related outcomes in healthcare personnel."
],
"categories": [
"Occupational Exposure",
"MRI",
"Systematic Reviews",
"Neurological Effects",
"Pregnancy & Reproductive Outcomes"
],
"tags": [
"MRI",
"Occupational Exposure",
"Healthcare Workers",
"Magnetic Fields",
"Short-Term Effects",
"Vertigo",
"Phosphenes",
"Metallic Taste",
"Neurocognitive Effects",
"Neurobehavioral Effects",
"Sleep Quality",
"Pregnancy Outcomes",
"Systematic Review"
],
"keywords": [
"magnetic resonance imaging",
"medical personnel",
"occupational exposure",
"magnetic fields",
"electromagnetic fields",
"vertigo",
"phosphenes",
"neurocognitive",
"sleep quality",
"pregnancy"
],
"suggested_hubs": [
{
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"reason": "Focuses on health risks to medical personnel from MRI-related magnetic field exposure."
}
],
"social": {
"tweet": "Systematic review (34 sources) on MRI staff exposure: reports short-term sensory symptoms (e.g., vertigo, phosphenes) and neurocognitive/neurobehavioral effects in some studies; long-term work mainly addresses sleep quality. Pregnancy data are outdated but reported no clear deviations in several outcomes; more high-quality epidemiology is needed.",
"facebook": "A 2024 systematic review of MRI workplace exposure (34 included sources) summarizes reported short-term sensory symptoms and neurocognitive/neurobehavioral effects, and notes long-term research largely focuses on sleep quality. The authors state pregnancy-exposure data are outdated but report no particular deviations in gestation duration, preterm birth, miscarriage, or birth weight, highlighting the need for better long-term and epidemiological studies.",
"linkedin": "This 2024 systematic review (34 included sources) summarizes evidence on MRI-related magnetic field exposure in healthcare workers. It reports described short-term sensory symptoms and neurocognitive/neurobehavioral effects in some studies, and notes long-term research mainly concerns sleep quality. Pregnancy-exposure data are described as outdated, with no particular deviations reported for several pregnancy outcomes; the authors call for higher-quality long-term and epidemiological evidence."
}
}
AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.
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