LIPID PROFILE AMONG THE POPULATION EXPOSED TO RADIATION FROM SEMIPALATINSK NUCLEAR TEST SITE, KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Many studies have explored associations between radiation exposure and cancer among atomic bomb survivors in Japan, Chernobyl rescue workers, workers of nuclear industry in Germany and in a historical cohort of people who were exposed to the radiation from the Semipalatinsk nuclear weapons test site in Kazakhstan. Non-cancer consequences of radiation exposure have been less studied. We identified a few publications on associations between radiation and cardiovascular diseases, but most of them were conducted in Japan among Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors and their offspring. In this population-based cross-sectional study (n = 1 755) we assessed associations between equivalent radiation dose and blood lipids among population of East Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions who permanently live in close proximity to Semipalatinsk nuclear weapons test site. We studied total cholesterol, low- and high density lipoproteins as dependent variables across quartiles of the equivalent radiation dose using multiple linear regression with adjustment for gender, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index and region of residence. We observed significant positive association between equivalent dose and total cholesterol and low density lipoproteins, but not high density lipoproteins. Our results contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms between low dose radiation exposure and cardiovascular diseases