Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2013. Vol. 58. No. 4. P. 55–63

RADIATION MEDICINE

I.A. Galstyan, N.M. Nadejina

Life Expectancy, Survival Rate and the Main Causes of Death in the Late Period of the Acute Radiation Syndrome

Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center of FMBA, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Purpose: To study the life duration, survival time, mortality and causes of death of the ARS survivors. Material and methods: Results of long (from 4 to 56 years, in average: 19.7 ± 1.8 years) supervision of 152 men and 5 women (ARS survivors) are subjected to the analysis. Statistical analysis of results was made by means of the standard BIOSTAT programs. Level of the statistical importance is accepted equal 0.05. Results: 60 of 157 (38.2 %) ARS survivors have died for the period of supervision. It was found that average life duration (middle age at the moment of death) – 58.9 ± 1.6 years. The main causes of death were cardiovascular diseases (45 %) and malignant neoplasm (29 %). Thus in aggregated oncological causes of death the part of hematological neoplasm made up 12 % and it appeared to be considerably higher the corresponding population level in Russia. The third place in the causes of death structure was occupied with liver diseases – 8 %. There was no difference in survival time and causes of death of the patients dependently on the ARS severity. In average it was about 26 years since the accident.

Conclusions: 1. Life duration in the late terms of the ARS survivors authentically doesn’t differ from life duration of the nonirradiated human population of Russia and appeared to be about – 26 years after the accident irrespective on the ARS severity. 2. The most frequent causes of death in the late terms after ARS, as well as, in the general population of Russia were diseases of cardiovascular system and neoplasm. 3. The share of death from hematological neoplasm – 12 %. 4. The increase to 8 % of a share of death from the chronic diseases of a liver connected, as with hospital infection by viruses of hepatitis B and S, as with abuse of alcohol owing to social and psychological disadaptation of patients.

Key words: acute radiation syndrome, life expectancy, survival, reasons for death