The number of medical radiation tests and the amount of exposure have increased over the past five years...8 tests per person last year
Aug 26, 2025
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The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a total of 412.7 million medical radiation tests (8.0 cases per person) were conducted for disease diagnosis or health examination purposes in 2024, up 3.5% from the previous year (2023). Medical radiation exposure doses totaled 162,090 man·Sv (Man·Sibert), and per capita exposure doses were 3.13 mSv (Millisibert).
In general, an increase in radiation exposure dose increases the risk of cancer, so medical radiography should be performed only if the health benefits are significant. Even with the same amount of radiation, the genitals are 20 times more vulnerable than the skin, so the tissue weight of the genitals is 20 times that of the skin.
According to the current status of medical radiation use by the public in 2024, the number of medical radiation tests and exposure doses have been steadily increasing over the past five years (2020-2024). However, in 2024, the number of tests increased by 3.5% compared to the previous year (2023), as the growth rate slowed compared to the previous year, but the exposure dose was almost the same as the previous year.
The number of tests in the last five years (2020-2024) has increased by 7.6% annually, and the exposure dose has increased by 6.2% annually. This is interpreted as an increase in the number of general imaging, dental imaging, and bone density imaging with relatively low exposure doses, while the number of computed tomography (CT) and fluoroscopy with relatively high exposure doses decreased.
In 2024, the number of tests by type of medical radiation test was 321 million (6.2 cases per citizen), accounting for 77.9% of the total, and the exposure dose was 108,552 man·Sv (2.1 mSv per citizen), accounting for 67.0% of the total.
The number of tests was 77.9% for general imaging, 12.1% for dental imaging, 4.5% for mammography, and 3.8% for CT imaging, followed by 67.0% for CT imaging, 27.5% for general imaging, 2.1% for vascular imaging, and 1.6% for fluoroscopy.
In the case of CT, considering that the exposure dose accounts for 67.0% of the total, the number of tests is 3.8% of the total, the explanation is that CT has the highest exposure dose per test among radiological tests.
Director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Lim Seung-kwan said, `In order to protect the health of the people, medical radiation tests should be conducted only when necessary to prevent unnecessary radiation exposure" he said.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
