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Chronic diseases and mortality among immigrants to Israel from areas contaminated by the Chernobyl disaster: a
Danna A Slusky1, Julie Cwikel2, Michael R Quastel3
1Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. danna@slusky.com.
Objectives:
To examine six chronic diseases and all-cause mortality among immigrants to Israel from areas contaminated by the Chernobyl accident.
Methods:
The medical data were obtained from the two largest HMOs in Israel. In the assessment of chronic diseases, individuals were divided into three groups: less exposed (n = 480), more exposed (n = 359), and liquidators (n = 45) and in the mortality analysis, into two groups: less exposed (n = 792) and more exposed (n = 590).
Results:
Compared to the less exposed, adults from the more exposed group had increased odds of respiratory disorders (OR = 2.34, 95% CI 1.21, 4.54) and elevated odds, with borderline significance, of ischemic heart disease (OR = 2.01, 95% CI 0.97, 4.20). In addition, the liquidators had increased odds of hypertension compared to the less exposed (OR = 2.64, 95% CI 1.24, 5.64). The Cox proportional-hazards model indicated no difference in the ratio of all-cause mortality between the exposed groups during the follow up period.
Conclusions:
Our study, conducted approximately two decades after the accident, suggests that exposure to radionuclides may be associated with increased odds of respiratory disorders and hypertension.
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