Effects of long-term low-level radiation exposure after the Chernobyl catastrophe on immunoglobulins in children residing in contaminated areas: prospective and cross-sectional studies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

After the Chernobyl nuclear incident in 1986, children in the Narodichesky region, located 80 km west of the Chernobyl Power Plant, were exposed to 137Cesium (137Cs). Little is known about the effects of chronic low-level radiation on humoral immune responses in children residing in contaminated areas.

Methods

In four different approaches we investigated the effect of residential 137Cs exposure on immunoglobulins A, G, M, and specific immunoglobulin E in children. In a dynamic cohort (1993-1998) we included 617 children providing 2,407 repeated measurements; 421 and 523 children in two cross-sectional samples (1997-1998 and 2008-2010, respectively); and 25 participants in a small longitudinal cohort (1997-2010). All medical exams, blood collections, and analyses w

SUBMITTER: McMahon DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4030024 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature