Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2020. Vol. 65. No. 4. P. 22–28

E.Y. Burtovaia, T.E. Kantina, E.A. Litvinchuk

Long-Term Mental Disorders in the Accident-Exposed Population of the Southern Urals

Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine of FMBA of Russia, Chelyabinsk, Russia.
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Abstract

Purpose: To study late mental and behavioral disorders (ICD-10) in individuals who were accidentally exposed in the Southern Urals.

Material and methods: The research subjects are the persons who were exposed to radiation as a result of dumping of radioactive waste into the Techa River (1949–1956), who were born before 1953 and lived in the Techa River basin between 1950 and 1960. The study group consists of 425 people, women predominate (72.5 %), people with secondary special education make up 44.5 %, and pensioners amount to 89.4 %. Mean age at examination was 67.3 ± 5.3 years. Information on radiation doses included data on the absorbed dose to the stomach, which was considered as an analog of brain exposure (50 ± 3 mGy). The paper uses clinical-anamnestic, clinical-psychopathological, clinical and instrumental methods.

Results: It has been demonstrated that in the long-term period, accidentally exposed individuals have organic nonpsychotic mental disorders (72.2 %), with the predominance of organic asthenic (29.6 %) and organic cognitive (36.5 %) disorders. Among the studied individuals, only 20.9 % showed no signs of mental illness. Higher absorbed doses to the stomach (70 ± 8 mGy, p = 0.01) was determined in patients with organic cognitive disorder. Concomitant somatic pathology is present in patients with organic cognitive disorder — hypertension (90.3 %, p = 0.005), ischemic heart disease (56.7, p = 0.004), chronic brain ischemia (43.2 %, p = 0.04). Patients with organic asthenic disorder may have hypertension (94.4 %, p = 0.0002), ischemic heart disease (51.6 %, p =  0.04), chronic brain ischemia (35.7 %, p = 0.02). In the group of patients without mental pathology, the most common were hypertension (76.4 %), diseases of the musculoskeletal system (61.7 %, p = 0.03), and ischemic heart disease (37.1 %). Multiple correlation analysis showed a weak statistically significant association of organic mental disorders with chronic brain ischemia, hypertension, ischemic heart disease and the age of patients.

Conclusion: The performed study complements the current understanding of long-term mental disorders in exposed individuals, and requires further research to study the pathogenesis of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases in individuals exposed to radiation.

Key words: population, chronic radiation exposure, Southern Urals, accidental radiation exposure, mental disorders

For citation: Burtovaia EY, Kantina TE, Litvinchuk EA. Long-Term Mental Disorders in the Accident-Exposed Population of the Southern Urals. Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2020;65(4):22-8 (In Russ.).

DOI: 10.12737/1024-6177-2020-65-4-22-28

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Конфликт интересов. Авторы заявляют об отсутствии конфликта интересов.
Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Финансирование. Исследование не имело спонсорской поддержки.
Financing. The study had no sponsorship.
Участие авторов. Cтатья подготовлена с равным участием авторов.
Contribution. Article was prepared with equal participation of the authors.
Поступила: 14.08.2020. Принята к публикации: 21.08.2020.
Article received: 14.08.2020. Accepted for publication: 21.08.2020.

Information about the autors
Burtovaia E.Y. http://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-1260-7745
Kantina T.E. http://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-6001-4111
Litvinchuk E.A. http://orcid.org/ 0000-0003-0061-7134