Spatial geochemical differentiation of the iodine-induced health risk and distribution of thyroid cancer among urban and rural population of the Central Russian plain affected by the Chernobyl NPP accident.

The main goal was to study the spatial distribution of thyroid cancer (THYC) among the population of urban and rural settlements of four regions of Russia, which were characterized by different contents of stable iodine in soils and exposed to radioactive fallout of I from the Chernobyl NPP. Using GIS technologies, zoning of territories for the deficiency of I and pollution with I was performed. The resulting risk maps were compared with the THYC distribution.

Chemical composition of groundwater used for drinking in conditions of natural deficiency of iodine and selenium and evaluation of its health effect: the case of Bryansk region (Russia).

Chemical composition of drinking water was examined in rural settlements of Bryansk region to reveal its influence on distribution of endemic thyroid diseases among population after the Chernobyl accident (1986) with due regard to different sources of water, the age and composition of water-bearing rocks. Groundwater samples (n = 515 in total) were collected in 156 rural settlements over the region in the period from 2007 to 2017 and analyzed for major cationogenic elements (Ca, Mg, Sr, K, Na, Mn, Zn, Fe, Al, Si) and anions (HCO, Cl, F, SO, NO, PO) as well as for I and Se using ICP-AES, potentiometry, photometry and spectrofluorimetry. The results confirmed a low supply of water samples with iodine (Median (Me) = 5.

Reference values of electrographic and cardiac ultrasound parameters in Russian healthy children and adolescents.

Between 2009 and 2013, a large cross-sectional study on the health consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident was performed in the contaminated and uncontaminated territories of the Bryansk Oblast (Russian Federation). The objective of this work was to confirm or refute a possible association between childhood cardiac arrhythmia and a chronic exposure to caesium-137. As part of this study, a large number of electrocardiographic and cardiac ultrasound parameters were collected from 18,152 children aged 2-18 years including 12,512 healthy ones not contaminated with caesium-137.

Endemic diseases of geochemical origin and methodological approaches toward their prevention and elimination.

A new approach to the study of diseases of geochemical origin is presented, which is based on the hypothesis that all such geochemical endemias were not possible in conditions of virgin biosphere and are products of human civilization. Two genetically different types of endemic diseases of geochemical origin are distinguished, each having a specifically spatial structure: (1) diseases of natural origin due to natural element deficiency or excess in the particular zones or areas; (2) diseases of anthropogenic origin related to chemical transformation of the environment in the course of agricultural or industrial production. Anthropogenically provoked diseases of geochemical nature always occur in conditions of already formed natural geochemical heterogeneity.

Is exposure to ionising radiation associated with childhood cardiac arrhythmia in the Russian territories contaminated by the Chernobyl fallout? A cross-sectional population-based study.

Objective: To investigate childhood cardiac arrhythmia and chronic exposure to caesium-137 (Cs) resulting from the Chernobyl accident.

Design: Prospective cross-sectional study using exposed/unexposed design conducted in the Bryansk region from May 2009 to May 2013 on children selected on the basis of Cs soil deposition: control territories ([Cs]<37 kBq per square metre, where children were considered as unexposed) and contaminated territories ([Cs]>555 kBq per square metre, where children were considered as exposed).

Setting: Russian territories affected by the Chernobyl fallout (Bryansk region).