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.

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.