Review article
https://doi.org/10.31306/s.66.3.7
The effects of the chernobyl disaster on the thyroid tumors incidence in the surrounding countries
Marina Čižmešinkin Cugovčan
; KBC Zagreb, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Iskra Alexandra Nola
; Škola narodnog zdravlja "Andrija Štampar", Zagreb, Hrvatska
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The 1986 Chernobyl disaster and its consequences related to the incidence of thyroid tumors have been frequently investigated in the past decades. Thyroid tumor is the most common malignant disease of the endocrine system. Risk factors for thyroid tumor include exposure to ionizing radiation, a family history of thyroid tumors, low iodine in the diet, some rare hereditary syndromes, female sex, and low vitamin D levels. Despite the possible exposure to radionuclides after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the results of research conducted in Croatia did not show an undeniable link between the incidence of thyroid tumors and exposure to radionuclides after the Chernobyl disaster in individuals who were in the risk group (born between 1966 and 1986). Research conducted in Europe indicate the incidence of thyroid tumors due to environmental and genetic factors, while research conducted in the territory of the former USSR indicates the incidence of thyroid tumors in children as a direct consequence of the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl.
Although trends in the world indicate a significant increase in the number of new cases of thyroid tumors, about 5% per year in the last 20 years, a large part of the increase in the number of new cases is attributed to better diagnostics and more frequent thyroid ultrasound examinations.
Keywords
Chernobyl, Croatia, ionizing radiation, nuclear disaster, thyroid cancer
Hrčak ID:
321102
URI
Publication date:
2.10.2024.
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