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In the last three decades, an increase in thyroid cancer incidence has been observed worldwide, as well as in Lithuania. Although the rise was linked to overdiagnosis, the role of lifestyle and environmental factors, including exposure to ionizing radiation, cannot be excluded. In our retrospective study, we aimed to assess the association between the average age-specific thyroid dose due to the radioactive iodine uptake during childhood and adolescence from the Chernobyl fallout in Lithuania, and the trends of incidence of thyroid cancer from 1991 to 2015 in different regions. Averaged age-dependent thyroid doses were estimated for every municipality based on radioiodine activity in milk, reconstructed from available 131 I activity measurements in the grass. Thyroid cancer incidence rates were calculated for the entire population and for two age at the time of exposure groups: 0-19 years and 0-9 years. Thyroid cancer relative risk (RR) was estimated for three municipality-specific thyroid dose (for 0-year-old babies) categories: less than 100 mGy (reference group), 100-199 mGy, and ≥200 mGy. Over the study period (1991-2015), a total of 5664 cases of thyroid cancer were registered in the entire Lithuanian population; 817 cases in the age group from 0 to 19 years at the time of the Chernobyl accident, and 266 cases in the age group from 0 to 9 years. Age-standardized thyroid cancer incidence rates have notably increased since 2000, peaked in 2009 (especially in females), and then slightly decreased and stabilized. The estimated average municipality-specific age-dependent thyroid doses ranged from 270 mGy in western Lithuania to 1.5 mGy in central and northern Lithuania. For the age group of 0-19 years at the time of the accident, in the period 1991-1995, the thyroid cancer relative risk was significantly increased (RR 3.91; 95 % CI: 1.27-10.29, p=0.01) in the highest dose category, compared to the lowest (although based on a small number of cases). For the age group 0-9 years at the time of the accident, a tendency of increased RR in the highest dose category appeared in the most recent period, 2011-2015. Our observations need to be confirmed by further following trends of thyroid cancer incidence in the cohort of 0-19-year-old Lithuanians at the time of the Chernobyl accident., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To describe the status and results of thyroid disease screening and assessment of reliability of radiationthyroid doses in the Belarusian in utero cohort of 2,965 individuals exposed to Chernobyl (Chornobyl) fallout., Materials and Methods: Thyroid screening examinations are currently underway including thyroid palpation by anendocrinologist, ultrasonographic examination by an ultrasonographer and analysis of blood samples for diagnosisof hypo- and hyperthyroidism, autoimmune thyroiditis, thyroid function tests (thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH],thyroxine [T4], thyroid peroxidase antibody [anti-TPO], and thyroglobulin antibodies [anti-TG]). Reliability of (i)information from 780 pairs of questionnaires obtained during the first and second interviews of the mothers and (ii)thyroid doses, which were calculated for the cohort members using this information, is evaluated., Results: As of 15 August 2021, 1,267 in utero exposed study subjects had been screened. A single thyroid nodule wasdiagnosed in 167 persons (13.2 % of the total) and multiple thyroid nodules in 101 persons (8.0 %): 189 (14.9 %)persons had nodules detected for the first time at the screening while 79 (6.2 %) persons had nodules detected pre-viously (pre-screening nodules). Fifty-nine out of 268 subjects (22.0 %) with a suspicious thyroid nodule werereferred to fine needle aspiration biopsy, and among them 33 (55.9 %) were biopsied. Reasonable agreement wasobserved for modelqbased doses calculated for the Belarusian in utero cohort members using data from the two inter-views (Spearman's rank-correlation coefficient rs = 0.74, p < 0.001), while measurementqbased doses yielded almost per-fect agreement (rs = 0.99, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: During the thyroid screening, at least one thyroid nodule was identified in 268 of 1,267 (21.2 %) inutero exposed cohort members. Seven thyroid cancer cases were identified in the cohort, including 5 pre-screeningcases and 2 cases detected during the screening. Ongoing research on this unique cohort will provide importantinformation on adverse health effects following prenatal and postnatal exposure to radioiodine and radiocesium iso-topes, for which available epidemiological data are scant., (V. Drozdovitch, V. V. Yauseyenka, V. F. Minenko, I. V. Veyalkin, T. S. Kukhta, R. I. Grakovitch, S. Trofimik, O. N. Polyanskaya, L. Starastsenka, E.K. Cahoon, M. Hatch, M. P. Little, A.V. Brenner, E. Ostroumova, K. Mabuchi, A.V. Rozhko.)

In Europe, the male to female ratio at birth (secondary sex ratio: SSR; sex odds: SO) is 1.04-1.06, is influenced by many factors and is declining in industrialized countries. This study was carried out to identify possible impacts of fallout by atomic bomb tests or by the Chernobyl event on SSR in Italy. Italy is a country without commercial nuclear power generation for the last four decades and thus nearly free of radiological confounders. Counts of annual male and female live births in Italy are provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and by the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT). This study included 57.7 million live births (1940-2019) with overall SSR 1.05829. The Italian SSR trend was modelled with linear and non-linear logistic regression. Trend changes, i.e., periods with level shifts were estimated with Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). Two distinct idealized level shifts were identified superimposed on a uniform secular downward trend. The first one is seen towards the end of the 1960s with a jump sex odds ratio (SOR) 1.00681, p < 0.0001. The second one occurred in 1987 with SOR 1.00474, p < 0.0001. In each of the 3 periods separated by the two jumps, SSR uniformly decreased with trend SOR per 100 years of 0.98549, p < 0.0001. In conclusion, the secular trend in the Italian SSR showed two marked level shifts, at the end of the 1960s and from 1987 onward. These follow the release of radioactivity by atmospheric atomic bomb tests during the 1960s and by Chernobyl in 1986 and corroborate the hypothesis that ionizing radiation increases SSR., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The major sources of the data on the hematological malignancies in the post-Chernobyl period in the regions of Ukraine differing by the levels of the residual contamination with radionuclides have been analyzed. According to the data collected from the primary hematological facilities in Ukraine in 2010-2017, the incidence of lymphoid neoplasms from mature B cells, acute myeloid leukemia, and multiple myeloma in the most contaminated regions was higher than in the less contaminated ones. For the first time, the relative contribution of the several specific types of leukemia in the total diagnosed hematological malignancies has been analyzed throughout 1997-2017 based on the in-house database compiled by the Reference Laboratory of RE Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. In 2011-2017, the Reference Laboratory provided the diagnostic studies in about 26% of all Ukrainian patients with tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (34% of patients with different forms of acute and chronic leukemia). The increased proportion of acute myeloid leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the total diagnosed cases of overall leukemia in the patients from contaminated regions has been demonstrated following Chernobyl accident.

Objective: to identify the psycho-emotional state of children - residents of radioactively contaminated territories and children displaced from the zone of armed conflict in the south-east of Ukraine, and evaluate the effectiveness of art therapy application to correct its disturbances., Materials and Methods: The psycho-emotional state was determined in 113 children, of which 57 children from radioactively contaminated territories with 137Cs content in the body from 269 Bq to 7024 Bq (group I) and 56 chil- dren displaced from the zone of military conflict in the Southeast of Ukraine (group II). The age of children ranged from 10 to 17 years. The children were hospitalized to the childrens' clinics of the NRCRM because of functional dis- orders and chronic somatic pathology. The psycho-emotional state of children was evaluated using the «non-exis- tent animal» test. It was analyzed for three symptoms - anxiety, aggressiveness and neuropsychiatric exhaustion and was evaluated by scoring points. Correction of the psychoemotional condition was carried out by the method of art therapy in the form of a serial drawing. Psychological testing was performed twice: at admission to the hospital and after the end of the art therapy., Results: The results of the primary examination of the psycho-emotional state of children by the «non-existent ani- mal» test showed that in children - residents of radioactively contaminated territories the state of anxiety was reg- istered in all 57 children (100 %), the state of aggression - in 38 children (66.7%); exhaustion - in 37 children (64.9 %). In children who have been displaced from the zone of armed conflict in the south-east of Ukraine, the state of anxiety was also registered in all 56 children (100 %), the status of aggression was determined in 53 chil- dren (94.6 %), and the state of exhaustion - in 44 children (78.6 %). It was established that in children displaced from the combat zone in the Southeast of Ukraine, the quantitative indices of anxiety and aggression states were sig- nificantly higher than in children living in radioactively contaminated territories (p < 0.001), whereas nor by frequen- cy, nor by the degree of severity of exhaustion state they did not clearly differ (p > 0.05). Correlation analysis with the definition of Spearman's criterion did not reveal likely association between the content of 137Cs in the body of children - residents of radioactively contaminated territories and the peculiarities of their psycho-emotional state., Conclusions: The use of the art therapy method in the form of a serial drawing for children - residents of radioac- tively contaminated territories and children moved from the combat zone in the south-east of Ukraine, led to a sig- nificant positive effect, which was characterized by a decrease in the manifestations of symptoms of anxiety and aggressiveness. The state of exhaustion was less well corrected and its indices only had a tendency to improve. Thus, the method of art therapy in the form of a serial drawing is characterized by efficiency, simplicity of execution, low cost, it can be widely used in children's teams to correct disorders of the psycho-emotional state., (V. A. Poznysh, V. Yu. Vdovenko, I. E. Kolpakov, E. I. Stepanova.)

Objective: to study the state of cognitive functions in children who were born and permanently live at radioactive contaminated territories (RCT) with pathology of the upper digestive tract, using pathopsychological testing; to increase the effectiveness of treatment and prophylactic measures aimed at preserving and restoring the health of RCT residents., Design, Patients and Methods: A randomized blind controlled clinical trial was conducted. There were examined, a total of 90 persons aged 6 to 17 years (35 boys and 55 girls) who were divided into two groups: the control group (I) included 30 persons of the conventional «clean» territories, and the main group (II) - 60 patients with patho- logy of the digestive organs who were born and live at the RCT. The study program included: the collection of anam- nesis, complaints; clinical and instrumental examinations. The following tests were applied by us: «What things are hidden in the drawings», Toulouse-Pieron, Raven, and Luria testing. For detecting the anxiety level, and the subjec- tive signs of autonomic dysfunctions were used the Spilberg-Hanin self-diagnosis and the Wein questionnaire, respectively., Results: It was shown that in children aged 6-11 years, according to the results of the Toulouse-Pieron test, speed of cognitive information-processing was significantly decreased by 7.17 conventional units, while on the back- ground of the etiopathogenetic treatment of the digestive tract - by 10.24 conventional units relative to the va- lues of the control group. The long-term memory was statistically significantly decreased in the examined children of senior school age (from 12 to 17 years). A significant increase in reactive anxiety and a reverse correlation between the personal anxiety (PA) and speed of cognitive information-processing (r = -0.331) were recorded in patients aged 6-11 years. In older patients, PA was increased.Сonclusions. The obtained results indicate that the state of cognitive functions was characterized by a decrease in speed of cognitive information-processing, long-term memory and a high level of anxiety in children aged from 6 to 17 years residents of RСT with pathology of digestive organs, according to the used testing., (L. M. Lisukha, I. Ye. Kolpakov.)

Objective: the compare of men reproductive function with idiopathic infertility on the grounds of spermogram tests from the radioactively contaminated and conventionally clean regions of Ukraine., Materials and Methods: There are 143 men (group I) with idiopathic infertility in the form of asthenozoospermia of the II degree living in the territories of the Kyiv region were investigated in the Department of Sexual Pathology and Andrology of the SI «Institute of Urology of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» and exposed to ionizing radiation due to the Chornobyl accident in 1986. All individuals in the I group were born from parents who were in the accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the area of radioactive contamination and perma- nently resided in areas with a high level of radioactivity. The control group was made up of persons born and living in the Ivano-Frankivsk region with a similar with a similar state of health (group II, n = 157). The mean age of the studied group I was (28.3 ± 2.4) years, and persons of the II group were (30.1 ± 2.8) years. Diagnosis of II was per- formed ambulatory in accordance with WHO and Ministry of Health of Ukraine standards. The research was to study and compare spermogram parameters in patients from both groups., Results: It has been established that the reproductive problems of men with idiopathic infertility living in radia- tively contaminated areas of the Kyiv region of Ukraine consist in a significant violation of the quality indicators of ejaculate (mobility by the pool A+B is less than 1.6 times, р < 0.05) correlating with modifications of physicochemi- cals (the average time of liquefaction is 1.4 times greater, р < 0.05) and biochemical (decrease of levels of fructose by 2.2 times, citrate - by 1.6 times, р < 0.001-0.05) investigation., Conclusions: The study found that the level of general indicators of spermogram is significantly worse in the regions of Ukraine who were exposed to radioactive contamination due to the Chornobyl accident, in contrast to the indicators of persons from conventionally clean regions., (I. Gorpynchenko, Yu. Gurzhenko, V. Spyrydonenko, E. Lytvinets.)

Background: Children and adolescents exposed to radioactive iodine-131 (I-131) in fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident appear to be at increased risk of thyroid cancer and benign thyroid nodules. The prenatal period is also considered radiosensitive, and the fetal thyroid can absorb I-131 from the maternal circulation., Objectives: We aimed to estimate the risk of malignant and benign thyroid nodules in individuals exposed prenatally., Methods: We studied a cohort of 2582 subjects in Ukraine with estimates of I-131 prenatal thyroid dose (mean = 72.6 mGy), who underwent two standardized thyroid screening examinations. To evaluate the dose-response relationship, we estimated the excess OR (EOR) using logistic regression., Results: Based on a combined total of eight cases diagnosed at screenings from 2003 to 2006 and 2012 to 2015, we found a markedly elevated, albeit not statistically significant, dose-related risk of thyroid cancer (EOR/Gy = 3.91, 95% CI: -1.49, 65.66). At cycle 2 (n = 1,786), there was a strong and significant association between I-131 thyroid dose and screen-detected large benign nodules (≥10 mm) (EOR/Gy = 4.19, 95% CI: 0.68, 11.62; P = 0.009), but no significant increase in risk for small nodules (<10 mm) (EOR/Gy = 0.34, 95% CI: -0.67, 2.24; P = 0.604)., Conclusions: The dose effect by nodule size, with I-131 risk for large but not small nodules, is similar to that among exposed children and adolescents in Belarus. Based on a small number of cases, there is also a suggestive effect of I-131 dose on thyroid cancer risk.

This article investigates the possibility and the extent of breast cancer rates being higher in European and Asian countries that have been damaged by warfare or nuclear accidents and the use of chemical weapons in relation to the rest of the countries in those two continents. After a literature review, although there are gaps in the local reports of the responsible bodies as well as many economic, geopolitical, cultural and time constraints, the rates of breast cancer incidence and mortality of the citizens of those areas are significant and have been increasing over time, especially in people of older ages, who were exposed to various disease factors at each specific period of time.

Policy Points Policymakers should invest more on researching the long-term health effects of low-ionizing radiation exposure, as we are far from reaching a consensus on a topic that is of enormous importance for public health and safety. Public policies such as those limiting the import of contaminated food from areas hit by a radioactive disaster or those regulating the resident population's access to such areas should follow a precautionary approach. Neoplasm diagnosis and medical care should be designed in order to take into account the possible role of long-term, low-dose radiation exposure. Health care policies should provide effective screening and prevention strategies with a specific focus on the regions that were hit most severely by the Chernobyl nuclear fallout. Health care expenditure should be targeted, taking into account the geographical dispersion of the fallout in order to attenuate its possible effect on neoplasm incidence., Context: This study investigates the association between the radioactive 137 Cesium fallout originated by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident and dispersed over Western Europe, as a result of a combination of radioactive cloud passage days and rainy days over a 10-day period, and long-term health patterns and related costs. Since the half-life of 137 Cesium is 30.17 years, part of the radioactivity in the affected regions is still present today, and it is usually still detected in the food chain, although at lower concentration levels., Methods: We match longitudinal data on neoplasm incidence over the time span 2000-2013 in a number of European regions not immediately adjacent to Chernobyl with the randomly distributed levels of cesium deposition after the nuclear disaster in order to assess whether we can detect an association with the long-term health effects on the European population through a random effects model., Findings: Considering 3 levels of fallout deposition-low, medium, and high-hospital discharges after treatment for neoplasms are, respectively, 0.36, 0.44, and 0.98 discharges over 100 inhabitants higher compared to regions with no fallout, with the population average being around 1.7 hospital discharges by neoplasms over 100 inhabitants. We checked the robustness of our findings to a number of tests including a placebo simulation and different model specifications., Conclusions: Radioactive fallout is positively associated with a higher incidence of hospital discharges after treatment for neoplasms almost 30 years after its release, with larger effects in regions where the radioactivity was more intense. Our estimates are comparable to the findings of the largest-scale study on the long-term health effects of continuous low levels of radiation exposure among workers in the nuclear industry and suggest that more research is needed on this topic, given its enormous importance for public health and safety., (© 2018 Milbank Memorial Fund.)

Objective: To investigate childhood cardiac arrhythmia and chronic exposure to caesium-137 ( 137 Cs) resulting from the Chernobyl accident., Design: Prospective cross-sectional study using exposed/unexposed design conducted in the Bryansk region from May 2009 to May 2013 on children selected on the basis of 137 Cs soil deposition: control territories ([ 137 Cs]<37 kBq per square metre, where children were considered as unexposed) and contaminated territories ([ 137 Cs]>555 kBq per square metre, where children were considered as exposed)., Setting: Russian territories affected by the Chernobyl fallout (Bryansk region)., Participants: This cross-sectional study included 18 152 children aged 2-18 years and living in the Bryansk region (Russia)., Main Outcome Measures: All children received three medical examinations (ECG, echocardiography and 137 Cs whole-body activity measurement) and some of them were given with a 24-hour Holter monitoring and blood tests., Results: Cardiac arrhythmia was diagnosed in 1172 children living in contaminated territories and 1354 children living in control territories. The crude prevalence estimated to 13.3% in contaminated territories was significantly lower than in control territories with 15.2% over the period 2009-2013 (P<0.001). Considering 137 Cs whole-body burden as exposure, cardiac arrhythmia was found in 449 contaminated children and 2077 uncontaminated children, corresponding to an estimated crude prevalence of 14.5% and 14.2%, respectively, which does not differ significantly (P=0.74). Also, we investigated the association between territory, exposure to 137 Cs and cardiac arrhythmia: the adjusted OR was not significant (0.90 with 95% CI 0.81 to 1.00; P=0.06) for the territory. For 137 Cs whole-body burden, the ORs close to 1 did not reach statistical significance (P for trend=0.97)., Conclusion: This study does not observe an association between cardiac arrhythmia and 137 Cs deposition levels in the Bryansk region exposed to Chernobyl fallout. The suspected increase of cardiac arrhythmia in children exposed to Chernobyl fallout is not confirmed., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)

Background: The Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident occurred in Ukraine on April 26th 1986. In France, the radioactive fallout and thyroid radiation doses were much lower than in highly contaminated areas. However, a number of risk projections have suggested that a small excess in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) might occur in eastern France due to this low-level fallout. In order to investigate this potential impact, a case-control study on DTC risk factors was started in 2005, focusing on cases who were less than 15 years old at the time of the Chernobyl accident. Here, we aim to evaluate the relationship between some specific reports of potentially contaminated food between April and June 1986 - in particular fresh dairy products and leafy vegetables - and DTC risk., Methods: After excluding subjects who were not born before the Chernobyl accident, the study included 747 cases of DTC matched with 815 controls. Odds ratios were calculated using conditional logistic regression models and were reported for all participants, for women only, for papillary cancer only, and excluding microcarcinomas., Results: The DTC risk was slightly higher for participants who had consumed locally produced leafy vegetables. However, this association was not stronger in the more contaminated areas than in the others. Conversely, the reported consumption of fresh dairy products was not statistically associated with DTC risk., Conclusion: Because the increase in DTC risk associated with a higher consumption of locally produced vegetables was not more important in the most contaminated areas, our study lacked power to provide evidence for a strong association between consumption of potentially contaminated food and DTC risk., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The vertical distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in Albeluvisols of the spruce forest in the Roslavl district of Smolensk region was investigated. The statistical characteristics of spatial variability and distribution laws for the activity con- centrations and activity depositions of ¹³⁷Cs in upper soil layers (forest litter, 0-5, 5-10, 10-19 cm) were de- termined. Positive correlations between the height, crown length of spruce trees and the content of ¹³⁷Cs in the soil under them were revealed. The regularities of spatial configuration of ¹³⁷Cs contamination in soil were related to the parcel structure of spruce forest. The lateral trends for distribution of 137Cs along the tessers un- der spruce and during the transfer to the open positions between the trees were recorded.

Background: On 26th April, 1986 the greatest accident of nuclear plant in Czernobyl occured and isotopes with high percentage of release were erupted: 33-Xe, 131-I, 132-Te, 134-Cs and 137-Cs. The radioactivity of the isotopes was very high - for instance: 33-Xe 6500 PBq, 131-I 1760 PBq. Rest of the 15 isotopes represented similar radioactivity with shorter percentage of release. The most exposed group of people were 237 liquidators, and 11600 people living around had to be evacuated when the limit dose for a person (5mSv) was crossed. Ionizing radiation on the molecular level produces high energy radicals, water radiolysis and ionization of the atoms leading to damage of the enzymes activity centers and receptors, cell membranes DNA, intracellular lysosomes, and especially important for ATP synthesis - mitochondria. These destructions lead to tissue and organs damage., Objective: The aim of this article is the presentation of the protective property of iodine application in the case of nuclear accident., Methods: In Poland at that time, effective iodine prophylaxis did not exist. In the face of such exposition, a special Governement Commission was appointed. When permissioned maximal dose for children and adolescents 50mSv appeared in some areas of the country, the Commission made a decision about obligatory administration of a single pharmacological dose of potassium iodide for all children and adolescents till age 16. No relevant recent patents were available for this WHO report., Results: In this way, the dose of 131-I to thyroid for inhabitants in high, moderated, and low contaminated regions were reduced by about 45%. However, from 1987 to 1997 increase in prevalence of the differentiated thyroid cancer in adults in Polish population especially in women over 40 years old in the southern part of Poland was observed., Conclusion: Actually in European countries work 185 nuclear power plants and to 2045 another 100 is planned. In 1999, WHO issued recommendations on iodine prophylaxis in the case of nuclear accident., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)

Twenty-five years have passed since the Chernobyl accident, but its health consequences remain to be well established. Finland was one of the most heavily affected countries by the radioactive fallout outside the former Soviet Union. We analyzed the relation of the estimated external radiation exposure from the fallout to cancer incidence in Finland in 1988-2007. The study cohort comprised all ∼ 3.8 million Finns who had lived in the same dwelling for 12 months following the accident (May 1986-April 1987). Radiation exposure was estimated using data from an extensive mobile dose rate survey. Cancer incidence data were obtained for the cohort divided into four exposure categories (the lowest with the first-year committed dose <0.1 mSv and the highest ≥ 0.5 mSv) allowing for a latency of 5 years for leukemia and thyroid cancer, and 10 years for other cancers. Of the eight predefined cancer sites regarded as radiation-related from earlier studies, only colon cancer among women showed an association with exposure from fallout [excess rate ratio per increment in exposure category 0.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.02-0.11]. No such effect was observed for men, or other cancer sites. Our analysis of a large cohort over two decades did not reveal an increase in cancer incidence following the Chernobyl accident, with the possible exception of colon cancer among women. The largely null findings are consistent with extrapolation from previous studies suggesting that the effect is likely to remain too small to be empirically detectable and of little public health impact.

The recent claim made in this journal that nuclear bomb tests and the Chernobyl disaster caused distortions in the secondary sex ratio is shown to be a likely artifact of data mining, misused statistics, and misreading of the evidence. In particular, the concept of statistical "significance" and its limitations do not seem to be fully understood, and important confounding factors have not been accounted for.

Using longitudinal data from Ukraine we examine the extent of any long-lasting effects of exposure to the Chernobyl disaster on the health and labour market performance of the adult workforce. Variation in the local area level of radiation fallout from the Chernobyl accident is considered as a random exogenous shock with which to try to establish its causal impact on poor health, labour force participation, hours worked and wages. There appears to be a significant positive association between local area-level radiation dosage and perception of poor health, though much weaker associations between local area-level dosage and other specific self-reported health conditions. There is also some evidence to suggest that those who lived in areas more exposed to Chernobyl-induced radiation have significantly lower levels of labour market performance 20 years on., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background, Aim, and Scope: Ever since the discovery of the mutagenic properties of ionizing radiation, the possibility of birth sex odds shifts in exposed human populations was considered in the scientific community. Positive evidence, however weak, was obtained after the atomic bombing of Japan. We previously investigated trends in the sex odds before and after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. In a pilot study, combined data from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, and Sweden between 1982 and 1992 showed a downward trend in the sex odds and a significant jump in 1987, the year immediately after Chernobyl. Moreover, a significant positive association of the sex odds between 1986 and 1991 with Chernobyl fallout at the district level in Germany was observed. Both of these findings, temporality (effect after exposure) and dose response association, yield evidence of causality. The primary aim of this study was to investigate longer time periods (1950-2007) in all of Europe and in the USA with emphasis on the global atmospheric atomic bomb test fallout and on the Chernobyl accident. To obtain further evidence, we also analyze sex odds data near nuclear facilities in Germany and Switzerland. DATA AND STATISTICAL METHODS: National gender-specific annual live births data for 39 European countries from 1975 to 2007 were compiled using the pertinent internet data bases provided by the World Health Organization, United Nations, Council of Europe, and EUROSTAT. For a synoptic re-analysis of the period 1950 to 1990, published data from the USA and from a predominantly western and less Chernobyl-exposed part of Europe were studied additionally. To assess spatial, temporal, as well as spatial-temporal trends in the sex odds and to investigate possible changes in those trends after the atomic bomb tests, after Chernobyl, and in the vicinity of nuclear facilities, we applied ordinary linear logistic regression. Region-specific and eventually changing spatial-temporal trends were analyzed using dummy variables coding for continents, countries, districts, municipalities, time periods, and appropriate spatial-temporal interactions., Results: The predominantly western European sex odds trend together with the US sex odds trend (1950-1990 each) show a similar behavior. Both trends are consistent with a uniform reduction from 1950 to 1964, an increase from 1964 to 1975 that may be associated with delayed global atomic bomb test fallout released prior to the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963 and again a more or less constant decrease from 1975 to 1990. In practically all of Europe, including eastern European countries, from 1975 to 1986, and in the USA from 1975 to 2002, there were highly significant uniform downward trends in the sex odds with a reduction of 0.22% to 0.25% per 10 years. In contrast to the USA, in Europe there was a highly significant jump of the sex odds of 0.20% in the year 1987 following Chernobyl. From 1987 to 2000, the European sex odds trend reversed its sign and went upward, highly significantly so, with 0.42% per 10 years relative to the downward trend before Chernobyl. The global secular trend analyses are corroborated by the analysis of spatial-temporal sex odds trends near nuclear facilities (NF) in Germany and Switzerland. Within 35 km distance from those NF, the sex odds increase significantly in the range of 0.30% to 0.40% during NF operating time., Conclusions: The atmospheric atomic bomb test fallout affected the human sex odds at birth overall, and the Chernobyl fallout had a similar impact in Europe and parts of Asia. The birth sex odds near nuclear facilities are also distorted. The persistently disturbed secular human sex odds trends allow the estimation of the global deficit of births in the range of several millions.

A population-based case-control study of thyroid cancer was carried out in contaminated regions of Belarus and Russia among persons who were exposed during childhood and adolescence to fallout from the Chernobyl accident. For each study subject, individual thyroid doses were reconstructed for the following pathways of exposure: (1) intake of 131I via inhalation and ingestion; (2) intake of short-lived radioiodines (132I, 133I, and 135I) and radiotelluriums (131mTe, 132Te) via inhalation and ingestion; (3) external dose from radionuclides deposited on the ground; and (4) ingestion of 134Cs and 137Cs. A series of intercomparison exercises validated the models used for reconstruction of average doses to populations of specific age groups as well as of individual doses. Median thyroid doses from all factors for study subjects were estimated to be 0.37 and 0.034 Gy in Belarus and Russia, respectively. The highest individual thyroid doses among the subjects were 10.2 Gy in Belarus and 5.3 Gy in Russia. Iodine-131 intake was the main pathway for thyroid exposure. Estimated doses from short-lived radioiodines and radiotelluriums ranged up to 0.53 Gy. Reconstructed individual thyroid doses from external exposure ranged up to 0.1 Gy, while those from internal exposure due to ingested cesium did not exceed 0.05 Gy. The uncertainty of the reconstructed individual thyroid doses, characterized by the geometric standard deviation, varies from 1.7 to 4.0 with a median of 2.2.

Taking into consideration the basic principles of environmental protection from radiation as stated in Publication 91 of the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP), we suggest cattle to be included into fauna reference species group. The choice is based upon cattle being a typical representative of specific ecosystems and may serve as an informative biological indicator and comparable with humans for its susceptibility to radiation effects. Cattle will receive some higher radiation doses as compared to humans due to its habitat, also earlier determined physiological and radiation constants for cattle are available. Furthermore, there are some data for the effects of radiation levels more than 10 times as higher than the natural ones upon cattle reproductive function and leucosis infection. Using cattle as one of reference organisms will not complicate considerably the systems for environmental protection against radiation as compared to the ones existing now, that will just modify and supplement them.

Chernobyl, the largest ever nuclear accident, caused a huge release of radioactive isotopes, including nearly 2x10(18) Bq of iodine-131. Four years later an increase in thyroid cancer incidence, virtually all papillary carcinomas in children, occurred in the highly exposed areas. The increase has continued, and with increasing latency the tumour molecular and morphological pathology has changed; further changes may occur in the future. Children under the age of 1 at exposure show the highest susceptibility, and carry this risk with them into adult life; 4000 cases have been attributed to the accident, but so far very few have died. The risk falls rapidly with increasing age at exposure; it is doubtful if there is any risk for adults at exposure. Other factors linked to susceptibility to thyroid carcinogenesis after Chernobyl include dose, iodine deficiency, and genetic factors. Other consequences are briefly covered.

Context: An increase in the prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies (ATAs) was reported 6-8 yr after the Chernobyl accident in radiation-exposed children and adolescents., Objective: Our objective was to reassess the effects of childhood radiation exposure on ATAs and thyroid function 13-15 yr after the accident., Design and Setting: We measured the antithyroglobulin (TgAbs) and antithyroperoxidase (TPOAbs) antibodies and TSH in 1433 sera collected between 1999 and 2001 from 13- to 17-yr-old adolescents born between January 1982 and October 1986 in paired contaminated and noncontaminated villages of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. A total of 1441 sera was collected from age- and sex-matched controls living in Denmark and Sardinia (Italy). Free T(4) and free T(3) were measured when TSH was abnormal., Results: TPOAb prevalence was higher in contaminated than in noncontaminated Belarusian children (6.4 vs. 2.4%; P = 0.02) but lower than previously reported (11%) in a different contaminated Belarus village. No difference in TPOAb prevalence was found in Ukrainian and Russian villages. TgAbs showed no difference between contaminated and noncontaminated Belarus and Ukraine, whereas in Russia they showed a relative increase in the exposed subjects with respect to the unexposed, who showed an unexpectedly lower prevalence of TgAbs. Besides radiation exposure, female gender was the only variable significantly correlated with ATAs in all groups. ATA prevalence in nonexposed villages of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russian Federation did not differ from that found in Sardinia and Denmark. With few exceptions, thyroid function was normal in all study groups., Conclusions: TPOAb prevalence in adolescents exposed to radioactive fallout was still increased in Belarus 13-15 yr after the Chernobyl accident. This increase was less evident than previously reported and was not accompanied by thyroid dysfunction. Our data suggest that radioactive fallout elicited a transient autoimmune reaction, without triggering full-blown thyroid autoimmune disease. Longer observation periods are needed to exclude later effects.

The large increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer among children who were mainly less than five years old at the time of the Chernobyl accident is still a major preoccupation for endocrinologists and nuclear physicians. Epidemiological studies have focused solely on iodine 131. However, past knowledge on thyroid irradiation (medical use of iodine 131, radioactive fallout on Marshall islands and the Nevada, and Hanford site releases) as well as number of recent works (about low-dose irradiation), raise question on the role of other factors. It is here shown that post-Chernobyl thyroid irradiation is complex and that all factors (iodine 131, but also short lived isotopes of iodine and external irradiation) should be considered. Finally, one need to think about some of the present medical uses of iodine 131, and especially to the treatment of hyperthyroidism in young subjects.

The assessment of 137Cs accumulation by wood is made by using a chamber model of radionuclide behavior. Maximum of 137Cs specific activity in wany wood was in the midst of 1990s, with subsequent decrease in activity and half-time up to 22 to 25 years.

To investigate trends in the sex odds before and after the Chernobyl accident, gender-specific annual birth statistics were obtained from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, and Sweden between 1982 and 1992. For parts of Germany, annual birth statistics and fallout measurements after Chernobyl are available at the district level. Trend models allowing for discontinuities of the male birth proportions are suggested. Superimposed on a downward trend in male proportions there was a jump in 1987 with a sex odds ratio of 1.0047 (95%-confidence interval: 1.0013-1.0081, p=0.0061). A positive association of the male proportion in Germany between 1986 and 1991 with radioactive exposure at the district level is reflected by a sex odds ratio of 1.0145 per mSv/a (1.0021-1.0271, p=0.0218). These findings suggest a possible long-term chronic influence of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident on the human sex odds at birth in several European countries.

This article discusses the dispersal, deposition and collective doses of the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident. It explains that, although Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were heavily contaminated by the Chernobyl fallout, more than half of the fallout was deposited outside these countries, particularly in Western Europe. Indeed, about 40 per cent of the surface area of Europe was contaminated. Collective doses are predicted to result in 30,000 to 60,000 excess cancer deaths throughout the northern hemisphere, mostly in western Europe. The article also estimates that the caesium-137 source term was about a third higher than official figures.

The purpose of this investigation has been the analysis of the long-term development of biological damage in natural populations of a model mammalian species, the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus, Schreber), which were chronically exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation over 22 animal generations within 10 years following the Chernobyl accident. The time course of the biological end-points (chromosome aberrations in bone marrow cells and embryonic lethality) was compared with the time course of the whole-body absorbed dose rate from external and internal exposure in the studied populations inhabiting monitoring sites in Belarus with different ground deposition of radionuclides. The yield of chromosome aberrations and, in lesser degree, embryonic lethality was associated with the radionuclide contamination of the monitoring areas in a dose-dependent manner. As a main feature of the long-term development of biological damage under low dose rate irradiation, permanently elevated levels of chromosome aberrations and an increasing frequency of embryonic lethality have developed over 22 animal generations. This contrasts with the assumption that the biological damage would gradually disappear since in the same period of time the whole-body absorbed dose rate decreased exponentially with a half-value time of about 2.5-3 years. Furthermore, gravid females were captured, and their offspring, born and grown up under contamination-free laboratory conditions, showed the same enhanced level of chromosome aberrations. Therefore the authors suggest that, along with the biological damage attributable to the individual exposure of each animal, the observed cellular and systemic effects reflect the transgenerational transmission and accumulation, via genetic and/or epigenetic pathways, of damage attributable to the chronic low-dose rate exposure of the preceding generations of animals. They also suggest that the level of the accumulated transmissible damage in the investigated populations will decrease in future due to the further recession of the chronic exposure and as a consequence of selection processes.

Background: After the Chernobyl accident in 1986, as much as 5% of the released caesium-137 was deposited in Sweden due to a heavy rainfall 2 days after the event. A study of increased incidence of malignancies was initiated after the accident., Methods: The cohort included 1,137,106 inhabitants who were 0-60 years old in 1986 and lived in 8 counties of Sweden with the highest fallout of caesium-137. With the dwelling coordinate, GIS-technique and a digital map on caesium-137, each individual was matched for the exposure. Adjustments were made for several potential confounding factors. During the follow-up 33,851 malignancies was recorded 1988-1999., Results: Exposure categories were: 0-8 (reference), 9-23, 24-43, 44-66, 67-84, and > or =85 nGy/hr. The corresponding adjusted Mantel-Haenszel incidence rate ratios for total malignancies during follow-up amounted to 1.000, 0.997, 1.072, 1.114, 1.068, 1.125, respectively. The excess relative risk per 100 nGy/hr with the same adjustments and time period was 0.042 95% confidence limit 0.001;0.084. An excess for thyroid cancer or leukemia could not be ruled out., Conclusion: Increased incidence of total malignancies possibly related to the fallout from the Chernobyl accident is seen., ((c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

The influence of agrochemical properties of forest soils and growth conditions on 137Cs aggregated transfer factors from soil to different species of forest mushrooms have been analysed. Statistically significant correlations between 137Cs soil to mushroom aggregated transfer factors and agrochemical soil properties have been revealed. The experimental data show that 137Cs aggregated transfer factors depend on the mushroom's trophic group, biological family, genus and species. They also strongly depend on forest soil properties and their values can be estimated with the use of multiple regression equations constructed from agrochemical soil parameters which most closely correlate with the 137Cs transfer parameters for particular mushroom groups.

Gamma-spectrometric measurements of 137Cs activities in meat of wild boars collected in Croatia at several locations with different levels of 137Cs contamination are presented. Samples were collected during the period between 2000 and 2002, about 15 years after the Chernobyl accident. 137Cs concentrations ranged over three orders of magnitude: 0.4-611.5 Bq kg(-1). On the basis of these results, 137Cs concentrations at researched areas could be categorized into three groups: (i) the area of Slavonski Brod, Lipik and Slunj with 137Cs concentrations in meat of only a few Bq kg(-1); (ii) the area of Vrbovsko and Sirac with 137Cs concentrations of a few tens of Bq kg(-1); and (iii) the Fuzine area with 137Cs values in wild boar meat of a few hundreds of Bq kg(-1). In areas with approximately equal contamination level, 137Cs concentrations in wild boar meat varied over two orders of magnitude. This fact suggests that the main reason for high 137Cs values in wild boar meat could be due to food consumed by wild boars, and only secondarily in contamination level of area where they live. Intensive mushroom consumption during autumn months could be one of the factors responsible for high 137Cs values in wild boar meat. An average dose arising from 137Cs due to ingestion of wild boar meat in Croatia is below radiological health concern except in the area of Fuzine, and only in cases of high annual wild boar meat intake, probably by hunters or members of their families.

Study Objective: Is there any epidemiologically visible influence on the cancer incidence after the Chernobyl fallout in Sweden?, Design: A cohort study was focused on the fallout of caesium-137 in relation to cancer incidence 1988-1996., Setting: In northern Sweden, affected by the Chernobyl accident in 1986, 450 parishes were categorised by caesium-137 deposition: < 3 (reference), 3-29, 30-39, 40-59, 60-79, and 80-120 kiloBecquerel/m(2)., Participants: All people 0-60 years living in these parishes in 1986 to 1987 were identified and enrolled in a cohort of 1 143 182 persons. In the follow up 22 409 incident cancer cases were retrieved in 1988-1996. A further analysis focused on the secular trend., Main Results: Taking age and population density as confounding factors, and lung cancer incidence in 1988-1996 and total cancer incidence in 1986-1987 by municipality as proxy confounders for smoking and time trends, respectively, the adjusted relative risks for the deposition categories were 1.00 (reference < 3 kiloBecquerel/m(2)), 1.05, 1.03, 1.08, 1.10, and 1.21. The excess relative risk was 0.11 per 100 kiloBecquerel/m(2) (95% CI 0.03 to 0.20). Considering the secular trend, directly age standardised cancer incidence rate differences per 100 000 person years between 1988 to 1996 and the reference period 1986-1987, were 30.3 (indicating a time trend in the reference category), 36.8, 42.0, 45.8, 50.1, and 56.4. No clear excess occurred for leukaemia or thyroid cancer., Conclusions: Unless attributable to chance or remaining uncontrolled confounding, a slight exposure related increase in total cancer incidence has occurred in northern Sweden after the Chernobyl accident.

Age-related changes in the content of reduced and oxidized glutathione in peripheral plasma were monitored in human populations (children from birth to 12 years and adults from 20 to 70 years old) living in uncontaminated and radionuclide-contaminated regions after the Chernobyl accident. The content of glutathione in human plasma did not depend on their age and was not genetically fixed. The proportions of humans with different baselines were redistributed in the population exposed to radiation.