Problems of Radiation Medicine and Radiobiology

STRUCTURE OF COMORBID DISEASES IN PATIENTS WITH NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE, EXPOSED TO IONIZING RADIATION AS A RESULT OF THE CHORNOBYL NPP ACCIDENT

О. V. Gasanova, Е. О. Sarkisova, L. М. Ovsyannikova, А. А. Chumak, О. V. Nosach, G. A. Nezgovorova, V. М. Gromadska
State Institution “National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”, Melnykov str., 53, Kyiv, 04050, Ukraine

Objective – to study of the structure of comorbid diseases in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), exposed to ionizing radiation due to the Chornobyl accident, and in the groups of comparison.
Materials and methods. Array of surveyed males was divided into 4 groups: the main group – 136 patients with NAFLD affected by the Chornobyl NPP accident, the first comparison group (І CG) – 28 affected by Chornobyl NPP accident without liver disease, the second comparison group (II CG) – 50 patients with NAFLD not exposed to factors of the Chornobyl disaster, and the third comparison group (III CG) – 16 unexposed persons without liver disease.
Results. A significant amount of co-morbid pathology was found in all studied groups but III CG: at the average from 4.1 ± 0.4 diseases in II CG to 5.2 ± 0.2 in the main group of patients (p < 0.05), among which in 6.6-7.1 % of cases more than 10 diseases were established. The most common disorders were cardiovascular and cerebrovascular and endocrine diseases. Structure of comorbid pathology in NAFLD in the main study group differed from this in II CG by a significantly greater frequency of detection of cerebrovascular diseases (73.5 and 56 %, p < 0.05). As for features of the metabolic syndrome in Chornobyl accident sufferers essential hypertension (71.3 % ), discirculatory encephalopathy (48.5 %) and thyroid diseases (47.1 %) were more frequent than in II GC: correspondingly 58 % (p < 0.001), 28 %, (p < 0.01), and 30 %, (p < 0.05). Essential hypertension in only 35.7 % patients without NAFLD (I CG) was detected (71.3 % in the study group, p < 0.01), and chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency in 71.4 % (39.7 % in the study group, p < 0.01).
Conclusion. Structure of comorbid pathology in NAFLD patients sufferers of the Chornobyl NPP accident was different both in a large number of identified diseases and nosological structure. The most common disorders were cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and endocrine diseases. Significantly higher incidence of essential hypertension, vascular encephalopathy, and thyroid disease was determined.

Key words: comorbid pathology, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, affected by the Chornobyl accident.

Problems of radiation medicine and radiobiology. 2014;19:231-240.