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Fw: [OEM] Reuters/Am.J.Epid: Chernobyl-exposed kids nl IQ, ^ADD
This was posted to another list that I subscribe to.
Jim Barnes
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2004 3:53 AM
Subject: [OEM] Reuters/Am.J.Epid: Chernobyl-exposed kids nl IQ, ^ADD
> USA: September 10, 2004
>
> http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/27047/story.htm
> [Please visit the original website to view the whole article. - Mod.]
>
> NEW YORK - The low level of radiation that occurred after the accident
> at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 did not appear to affect
> the mental performance of exposed children, researchers in Israel have
> found.
>
> However, they observed that mothers who were pregnant at the time of the
> accident have children with above-average rates of hyperactivity,
> regardless of the level of radiation they were exposed to. The
> investigators therefore suggest that the hyperactivity may reflect
> heightened anxiety in mothers that was transferred to their offspring.
>
> Studies of Japanese survivors of the atomic bombs during World War II
> showed that fetal exposure to high doses of radiation increased the risk
> of mental retardation and small head size. It was feared that prenatal
> and early childhood irradiation after the Chernobyl accident would have
> similar consequences, Dr. Gad Rennert and his team explain in the
> American Journal of Epidemiology.
>
> Rennert, of the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, and colleagues studied
> 1629 children who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union. The
> children were either unborn or up to 4 years old at the time of the
> accident.
>
> A total of 667 came from the highly exposed Gomel region, while 408 came
> from Mogilev and Kiev, which were only mildly exposed. The remaining 554
> were from the non-exposed cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
>
> There was no relation between exposure to radiation and measures of
> intelligence or of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the
> researchers found. However, children of mothers who were pregnant at the
> time of the accident scored higher for ADHD, regardless of the exposure
> level.
>
> ...
>
> The research is ongoing, Rennert noted. "We are closely following a
> cohort of more than 1000 individuals who were on clean-up teams. These
> were individuals who were put at the highest degree of risk. If they
> don't show any consequences of that exposure to low-level radiation,
> nothing will ever be shown."
>
> Story by Karla Gale
> REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
>
> = - = - = - = - = -
> American Journal of Epidemiology 2004 160(5):453-459;
> doi:10.1093/aje/kwh231
>
> http://aje.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/160/5/453
>
> ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS
> Neurobehavioral and Cognitive Performances of Children Exposed to
> Low-Dose Radiation in the Chernobyl Accident
> The Israeli Chernobyl Health Effects Study
> N. Bar Joseph1, D. Reisfeld1, E. Tirosh2,3, Z. Silman1 and G. Rennert1,3
>
> 1 CHS National Cancer Control Center and Department of Community
> Medicine and Epidemiology, Carmel Medical Center and Technion S. Neaman
> Institute, Haifa, Israel.
> 2 The Hannah Khoushy Child Development Center, Bnai Zion Medical Center,
> Haifa, Israel.
> 3 Technion Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.
>
> Exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation after the Chernobyl
> accident in the Ukraine could potentially have influenced the
> neurobehavioral and cognitive performances of exposed children. A cohort
> study of adolescents who were children at the time of the accident and
> who subsequently emigrated to Israel was conducted in 1998–2001. A total
> of 1,629 children (59% of all 2,769 invited) were included in the study
> (41% from higher contamination areas, 25% from lower contamination
> areas, 34% from noncontaminated areas). Mean scores of the Raven
> Standard Progressive Matrices Test were highest in children in all
> exposure groups whose parents had a high level of education. No overall
> relation was found between the cognitive function scores of the child
> and his/her putative radiation exposure level. Conners’ test T scores
> did not differ significantly by level of exposure. Mothers of all
> exposure groups who were pregnant at the time of the accident gave their
> children significantly higher Conners’ test scores than did those who
> were not pregnant. Scores for hyperactivity and
> attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were significantly higher among
> those who were in utero at the time of the accident. These results do
> not show differences of neurobehavioral or cognitive performance in
> exposed versus nonexposed children. There is a possible behavioral
> effect among offspring of pregnant mothers or mothers of very young
> children in all exposure levels.
>
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