Association between exposure to radioactive iodine after the Chernobyl accident and thyroid volume in Belarus 10-15 years later
Abstract Background While there is a robust literature on environmental exposure to iodine-131 (131I) in childhood and adolescence and the risk of thyroid cancer and benign nodules, little is known about its effects on thyroid volume. Methods To assess the effect of 131I dose to the thyroid on the v...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00820-0 |
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| author | Ekaterina Chirikova Robert J. McConnell Patrick O’Kane Vasilina Yauseyenka Mark P. Little Victor Minenko Vladimir Drozdovitch Ilya Veyalkin Maureen Hatch June M. Chan Chiung-Yu Huang Kiyohiko Mabuchi Elizabeth K. Cahoon Alexander Rozhko Lydia B. Zablotska |
| author_facet | Ekaterina Chirikova Robert J. McConnell Patrick O’Kane Vasilina Yauseyenka Mark P. Little Victor Minenko Vladimir Drozdovitch Ilya Veyalkin Maureen Hatch June M. Chan Chiung-Yu Huang Kiyohiko Mabuchi Elizabeth K. Cahoon Alexander Rozhko Lydia B. Zablotska |
| author_sort | Ekaterina Chirikova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background While there is a robust literature on environmental exposure to iodine-131 (131I) in childhood and adolescence and the risk of thyroid cancer and benign nodules, little is known about its effects on thyroid volume. Methods To assess the effect of 131I dose to the thyroid on the volume of the thyroid gland, we examined the data from the baseline screening of the Belarusian-American Cohort Study of residents of Belarus who were exposed to the Chernobyl fallout at ages ≤18 years. Thyroid dose estimates were based on individual thyroid activity measurements made shortly after the accident and dosimetric data from questionnaires obtained 10-15 years later at baseline screening. During baseline screening, thyroid gland volume was assessed from thyroid ultrasound measurements. The association between radiation dose and thyroid volume was modeled using linear regression where radiation dose was expressed with power terms to address non-linearity. The model was adjusted for attained age, sex, and place of residence, and their modifying effects were examined. Results The analysis was based on 10,703 subjects. We found a statistically significant positive association between radiation dose and thyroid volume (P < 0.001). Heterogeneity of association was observed by attained age (P < 0.001) with statistically significant association remaining only in the subgroup of ≥18 years at screening (P < 0.001). For this group, increase in dose from 0.0005 to 0.15 Gy was associated with a 1.27 ml (95% CI: 0.46, 2.07) increase in thyroid volume. The estimated effect did not change with increasing doses above 0.15 Gy. Conclusions This is the first study to examine the association between 131I dose to the thyroid gland and thyroid volume in a population of individuals exposed during childhood and systematically screened 10-15 years later. It provides evidence for a moderate statistically significant increase in thyroid volume among those who were ≥ 18 years at screening. Given that this effect was observed at very low doses and was restricted to a narrow dose range, further studies are necessary to better understand the effect. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b7587d80ff74592a911ac3f9fe2cdf8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1476-069X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T04:17:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | Environmental Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b7587d80ff74592a911ac3f9fe2cdf82022-12-21T21:21:19ZengBMCEnvironmental Health1476-069X2022-01-0121111010.1186/s12940-021-00820-0Association between exposure to radioactive iodine after the Chernobyl accident and thyroid volume in Belarus 10-15 years laterEkaterina Chirikova0Robert J. McConnell1Patrick O’Kane2Vasilina Yauseyenka3Mark P. Little4Victor Minenko5Vladimir Drozdovitch6Ilya Veyalkin7Maureen Hatch8June M. Chan9Chiung-Yu Huang10Kiyohiko Mabuchi11Elizabeth K. Cahoon12Alexander Rozhko13Lydia B. Zablotska14Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San FranciscoThe New York Thyroid Center, Columbia UniversityDepartment of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University HospitalRepublican Research Center for Radiation Medicine and Human EcologyRadiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer InstituteInstitute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State UniversityRadiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer InstituteRepublican Research Center for Radiation Medicine and Human EcologyRadiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer InstituteDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San FranciscoDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San FranciscoRadiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer InstituteRadiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer InstituteRepublican Research Center for Radiation Medicine and Human EcologyDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San FranciscoAbstract Background While there is a robust literature on environmental exposure to iodine-131 (131I) in childhood and adolescence and the risk of thyroid cancer and benign nodules, little is known about its effects on thyroid volume. Methods To assess the effect of 131I dose to the thyroid on the volume of the thyroid gland, we examined the data from the baseline screening of the Belarusian-American Cohort Study of residents of Belarus who were exposed to the Chernobyl fallout at ages ≤18 years. Thyroid dose estimates were based on individual thyroid activity measurements made shortly after the accident and dosimetric data from questionnaires obtained 10-15 years later at baseline screening. During baseline screening, thyroid gland volume was assessed from thyroid ultrasound measurements. The association between radiation dose and thyroid volume was modeled using linear regression where radiation dose was expressed with power terms to address non-linearity. The model was adjusted for attained age, sex, and place of residence, and their modifying effects were examined. Results The analysis was based on 10,703 subjects. We found a statistically significant positive association between radiation dose and thyroid volume (P < 0.001). Heterogeneity of association was observed by attained age (P < 0.001) with statistically significant association remaining only in the subgroup of ≥18 years at screening (P < 0.001). For this group, increase in dose from 0.0005 to 0.15 Gy was associated with a 1.27 ml (95% CI: 0.46, 2.07) increase in thyroid volume. The estimated effect did not change with increasing doses above 0.15 Gy. Conclusions This is the first study to examine the association between 131I dose to the thyroid gland and thyroid volume in a population of individuals exposed during childhood and systematically screened 10-15 years later. It provides evidence for a moderate statistically significant increase in thyroid volume among those who were ≥ 18 years at screening. Given that this effect was observed at very low doses and was restricted to a narrow dose range, further studies are necessary to better understand the effect.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00820-0Chernobyl nuclear accidentRadioactive iodineRadiationThyroid glandThyroid volumeThyroid pathology |
| spellingShingle | Ekaterina Chirikova Robert J. McConnell Patrick O’Kane Vasilina Yauseyenka Mark P. Little Victor Minenko Vladimir Drozdovitch Ilya Veyalkin Maureen Hatch June M. Chan Chiung-Yu Huang Kiyohiko Mabuchi Elizabeth K. Cahoon Alexander Rozhko Lydia B. Zablotska Association between exposure to radioactive iodine after the Chernobyl accident and thyroid volume in Belarus 10-15 years later Environmental Health Chernobyl nuclear accident Radioactive iodine Radiation Thyroid gland Thyroid volume Thyroid pathology |
| title | Association between exposure to radioactive iodine after the Chernobyl accident and thyroid volume in Belarus 10-15 years later |
| title_full | Association between exposure to radioactive iodine after the Chernobyl accident and thyroid volume in Belarus 10-15 years later |
| title_fullStr | Association between exposure to radioactive iodine after the Chernobyl accident and thyroid volume in Belarus 10-15 years later |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association between exposure to radioactive iodine after the Chernobyl accident and thyroid volume in Belarus 10-15 years later |
| title_short | Association between exposure to radioactive iodine after the Chernobyl accident and thyroid volume in Belarus 10-15 years later |
| title_sort | association between exposure to radioactive iodine after the chernobyl accident and thyroid volume in belarus 10 15 years later |
| topic | Chernobyl nuclear accident Radioactive iodine Radiation Thyroid gland Thyroid volume Thyroid pathology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00820-0 |
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