Radiation exists everywhere. Your spouse lying next to you emits radiation. The banana you eat emits radiation. We receive radiation when we walk under the sun. The radiation exposure of a 6 hour flight equals that of taking 2 chest X rays. A CT head scan's radiation exposure is equal to half to 1 year's background radiation exposure of a normal person, or 12-24 flights from Hong Kong to London. The yearly cumulative dose clearly linked to increased cancer risk is 100mSv: that equals 1200 flights from Hong Kong to London or taking 100 CT head scans in 1 year. So long as we try to avoid unnecessary radiation exposure and do not exceed 50 mSv cumulative dose per year then we should be fine. (Ref: https://twistedsifter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/radiation-dose-chart-infographic-xkcd.png )
Now back to your question. A head and neck CT with contrast gives you about 1-2 mSV of radiation; an abdomen and pelvic CT with contrast gives you about 8-14 mSv. (Ref https://www.openaccessjournals.com/articles-images/imaging-in-medicine-dose-values-1-1-65-t001.png ). The required radiation varies among individuals, depending on how much is necessary in order to achieve a good quality image. Factors affecting radiation dose include the fat content of the patient, target organ motion, the CT image reconstruction algorithm, the size of the area involved, and the resolution required. This list is not exhaustive, but it can give you somewhat an idea why there is a difference in radiation dose in different situations.