Open AccessThe level of thyroid-stimulating hormone in newborns in conditions of goiter endemicity and radiation pollution
Author(s) -
Э. П. Касаткина,
Д. Е. Шилин,
В. П. Федотов,
Т. М. Белослудцева
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
problemy èndokrinologii
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.124
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 2308-1430
pISSN - 0375-9660
DOI - 10.14341/probl19974358-12
Subject(s) - medicine , goiter , thyroid , iodine deficiency , incidence (geometry) , iodine , physiology , hormone , pediatrics , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , optics
The findings of five-year screening for hypothyrosis, carried out in 1242 newborns 6 to 10 years after the Chernobyl accident, are analyzed in order to assess the patterns of thyroid dysfunction in the neonatal period in regions endemic for goiter and evaluate the relationship between this condition and iodine deficiency and radiation contamination of the environment. The incidence of increased level of TTH in the blood (>5 iU/liter) is 3-4 times increased in two controlled districts contaminated with 137Cs at a density of 1-5 and 5-15 Ci/km2 in comparison with the reference (free from radiation) district. The incidence of neonatal thyroid hypofunction directly correlated with the radiation factor and its intensity and negatively with the severity of iodine deficiency. In addition, the mean TTH values (<5 iU/liter) in the newborns, although within the normal range, were 79 and 187%) higher, respectively, than in controls. Analysis of the results of screening for every year showed an outbreak of thyroid dysfunction in 1994, that is, 8 years after the atomic disaster. These data permit us to hypothesize that low-dose ionizing radiation is responsible for disorders of neonatal adaptation of the thyroid system to iodine deficit in the environment and hence, adequate iodine therapy is to be started from the earliest terms of gestation.