Long-term effects of radium exposure in female dial workers: Hematocrit and blood pressure

Abstract

Hematocrit readings and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were analyzed in women first employed as radium dial workers in 1913–1929 and in 1930–1954. Internal comparisons on these variables were made by dose groups, using average skeletal dose estimated some years after exposure to radium, and external comparisons were made using normative data from the U. S. National Health Survey. In women exposed from 1913 to 1929, a possible long-term effect of high-dose radium exposure on hematocrit was evident. Statistically significant results were obtained using univariate and multivariate (multiple regression) analyses for women aged 65–84. This effect appeared to be greatest in the highest-dose groups (especially 1000+ rad), but did not involve a higher frequency of “low” hematocrit suggestive of anemia. No association between dose and blood pressure was evident in the women exposed in 1913–1929. In women exposed in 1930–1954, dose was a significant predictor of systolic blood pressure in those 45–54 years old but not in those 55–64 years old. Analysis of longitudinal data on these populations will be required.