Yablokov Chernobyl book

84 Annals of the New York Academy of Sciencesof cases of autoimmune thyroiditis in theless contaminated Vitebsk, Minsk, and Brestprovinces (Khmara et al., 1993).3. In Gomel Province, which was one ofthe most contaminated, more than 40% of thechildren examined in 1993 had enlarged thyroidglands. Here endemic goiter increased sevenfoldfrom 1985 to 1993, and autoimmunethyroiditis increased more than 600-fold from1988 to 1993 (Astakhova et al., 1995; Byryukovaand Tulupova, 1994).4. Screening of 328 children ages 11 to 14years in Khoiniky City, Gomel Province, in1998 revealed that 30% had enlarged thyroidglands (Drozd, 2002).5. Children irradiated in utero during the firsttrimester have small thyroid glands and are frequentlydiagnosed with latent hypothyroidism(Drozd, 2002).6. Surveys disclosed thyroid gland pathologyin 43% of 4- to 5-month-old embryos frommothers from areas contaminated with Cs-137at levels of 1–15 Ci/km 2 (Kapytonova et al.,1996).7. Children irradiated in utero from theStolinsk District, Brest Province, which had levelsof Cs-137 contamination up to 15 Ci/km 2 ,had thyroid gland impairment even after morethan 10 years, which included: lowered productionof thyroxin-binding globulin (T-4), increasedproduction of triiodothyronine, increasedproduction of thyroglobulin in girls,and lowered production of thyroxin in boys(Sychik and Stozharov, 1999a).8. Enlarged thyroid glands were found in47% of 3,437 children examined in Mozyr District,Gomel Province (Vaskevitch and Tchernysheva,1994).9. Levels of immunity in children andteenagers with autoimmune thyroiditis havebeen correlated with a district’s level of radioactivecontamination (Kuchinskaya, 2001).10. Early sexual maturation was observedin girls from contaminated territories whohad autoimmune thyroiditis and was associatedwith a significant increase in gonadotropichormone concentration in the luteilphase of their menstrual cycles (Leonova,2001).11. Among 119,178 children from Ukraine,Belarus, and Russia under 10 years of age at thetime of catastrophe who were examined withinthe framework of the “Sasakava” project, therewere 62 cases of thyroid cancer and 45,873cases of other thyroid pathology (Yamashitaand Shibata, 1997).12. There was a significant correlation betweenenvironmental Cs-137 contaminationand the incidence of thyroid diseases among1,026,046 pregnant women (Busuet et al.,2002).13. From 1993 to 2003 primary nontoxicmultinodular and uninodular goiters and autoimmunethyroiditis significantly increasedamong female evacuees (National BelarussianReport, 2006).14. From 1993 to 1995 thyroid gland hyperplasiawas found in 48% of juvenile immigrantsfrom the Bragin District and in 17% of juvenileimmigrants from the Stolinsk District, BrestProvince (Belyaeva et al., 1996).15. Thyroid gland pathology in theChernobyl-contaminated territories correlatedwith diseases of the gums and teeth (Konoplya,1998).16. In 1996 thyroid gland illnesses were observed11.9-fold more often among liquidatorsthan in the general adult population (Antypovaet al., 1997a,b).17. The incidence of thyroid gland anatomicchanges in male liquidators who worked in1986–1987 was noticeably higher in 1994 comparedwith 1992 (Table 5.27).TABLE 5.27. Thyroid Gland Structural Changes(% of a Total of 1,752 Cases Examined Annually) inBelarussian Male Liquidators (1986–1987) (Lyaskoet al., 2000)1992 1994Nodular 13.5 19.7Hyperplasia 3.5 10.6Thyroiditis 0.1 1.9