Problems of Radiation Medicine and Radiobiology

MORBIDITY PATTERN OF NON-CANCER ENDOCRINE DISEASE IN CHNPP ACCIDENT EMERGENCY WORKERS (1992–2013 CLINICAL/EPIDEMIOLOGICAL REGISTRY DATA)

O. V. Kaminskiy, O. V. Pronin, D. E. Afanasyev
State Institution “National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of MedicalSciences of Ukraine”, Melnykov str., 53, Kyiv, 04050, Ukraine

Objective. The study examined the morbidity pattern of non-cancer endocrine disease in ChNPP accident emergency workers (AEW) versus the entire population of Ukraine.
Materials and methods. The study included a retrospective estimation of the examination data from 10,771 ChNPP AEW of the so-called iodine and non-iodine periods (main study group). Data were received from the RCRM Clinical/Epidemiological Registry for the survey period of 22 years (1992–2013) on persons been either healthy or having a range of endocrine disease. Anthropometric measures both with biochemical and hormonal assay data and external radiation dose values were taken into account. Diagnostic thyroid ultrasound was applied.
Results. There is a significant (2–10-fold) and reliable (p < 0.01) increase of the incidence of non-cancer endocrine disease in the ChNPP AEW, namely by 23.20 % of nodular goiter (0.53 % in control, χ² = 9602, р < 0.0001), by 13.37 % of autoimmune thyroiditis (0.35 % in control; χ² = 5381, р < 0.0001), by 11.89 % in average and by 16.29 % in last years of type 2 diabetes mellitus (χ² = 2527, р < 0.0001), by 41.67 % of pre-obesity (χ² = 10.92, р < 0.01), and by 38.12 % of obesity (χ² = 41.50, р < 0.01) compared to the entire population.
Conclusions. Effects of ionizing radiation and other hazardous factors on endocrine system in the ChNPP AEW appeared upon 15–25 years. There was a significant (2–10-fold) and reliable (p < 0.01) increase of the incidence of the nodular goiter, autoimmune thyroiditis, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus. And there is a trend to further increase.

Key words: ChNPP accident, accident emergency workers, ionizing radiation, endocrine system, thyroid, obesity, diabetes mellitus.

Problems of radiation medicine and radiobiology. 2014;19:267-276.