EFEITO DA EXPOSIÇÃO À RADIAÇÃO IONIZANTE SOBRE O DNA: UMA AVALIAÇÃO CIENCIOMÉTRICA

Abstract

Ionizing radiation, when interacting with matter, removes an electron from its orbital and generates ions or ionized particles. When an individual is exposed to ionizing radiation, reversible or irreversible harms to the body may arise, depending basically on the exposure time, level of injury, and absorbed dose. This study aimed to characterize the scientific literature on genetic damage caused by ionizing radiation, from 1970 to 2014, in order to verify trends and prospects of scientific development through scientometric analysis. This was accomplished through a literature search on the site Scopus® using the keywords "ionizing radiation” AND mutation AND effects AND human. Different approaches of paper assessment were carried out: type of publication, number of articles/year, number of publications per journal, organisms and conditions discussed in the studies. As a result, there was an increase in the number of publications related to DNA (Deoxyribonuclei acid) damage and ionizing radiation over the years. Most of the work was developed by authors from the US. Most papers correlated their findings to cancer development. It was also observed that there was an increase in the number of publications over the years, leading to the conclusion that there is interest in the study of DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation, since this damage may be responsible for numerous adverse biological effects on human health.