Babenko T. Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Visual Organ Condition of the Prenatally Irradiated as a Result of the Chornobyl disaster

There was conducted a long-term ophthalmological study of the closed cohort of 583 individuals, who were prenatally irradiated as a result of the disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.The control group consisted of 808 Kyiv residents. Total prevalence rate of eye diseases during the first examination of prenatally irradiated patients made up 855.9 per 1000 persons, in the control group - 414.6 per 1000 examined (Х2=66.31, p<0.0000001). In the visual organ pathology structure there was observed the predominance of refraction pathology (prevalence 449.4±20,6 per 1000 persons in the group of antenatally irradiated and 266,1±15,55 in the comparison group, р<0.05). Among diagnosed congenital eye developmental disorders congenital cataracts predominated (24.01±6.34 and 4.95±2.47 per 1000 respectively, р<0.05). Prevalence of congenital cataracts in the group exposed in utero is significantly higher than in the comparison group, RR of congenital cataracts for exposed in utero was 4.6 (95% CI - 1.3; 16.7). We found a significant increase in the incidence of congenital cataracts (RR=6.2, 95% CI - 1.34; 28.96) in those whose mothers were pregnant at the moment of Chornobyl disaster and received a total effective dose of 75 mSv and above compared with persons whose mothers' doses were less than 75 mSv. Based on the long-term follow-up it was found that for individuals irradiated in utero while compared with the control there were significantly higher relative risks of: the development of retinal angiopathy 4.74 (95% CI - 3.3; 6.8), astigmatism 9.4 (95% CI - 2.2; 39.8), chronic conjuctivitis 2.98 (95% CI - 1.8; 4.9 ). An examination by OCT of the antenatally exposed individuals revealed a statistically significant increase in retinal thickness in foveola by 9.3 % compared with the control, as well as the thickness increase of the retina in parafoveolar areas. Radiation effect in early gestational age - 2.8-19.9 weeks caused more significant changes in retinal thickness of the upper and lower parafoveolar zones compared with the exposure in later gestational age.