The patients having abnormal AWS parameters should be included in a group at risk for cardiovascular diseases and CVEs and their existing RFs be further assessed in detail for a preventive purpose. It is appropriate to incorporate volumetric sphygmomanometry in screening examination programs.

Relevance. Thyroid diseases in children and adolescents rank first in the structure of endocrine pathology. An issue related to comparability of data on prevalence obtained with different procedures is vital given the necessity to intensify activities aimed at optimizing prevention of thyroid pathology.The aim. Comparative analysis of pathological lesions of thyropathies and the prevalence of thyroid gland diseases in children and adolescents living in the territory of the Perm region.Materials and methods. Prevalence of thyroid diseases was analyzed based on data taken from Statistic Form No. 12. Pathological damage caused by thyroid diseases was calculated based on results produced by medical examinations that included laboratory tests, ultrasound scanning of the thyroid gland, and a check-up by an endocrinologist. Calculation results were then compared with data taken from statistic reports. Influence exerted by sex and age on the growth in thyrotrophic hormone contents and thyroid gland volume was assessed by analyzing values in one-factor logistic regression models.Results. Prevalence of thyroid diseases, endemic goiter and subclinical hypothyroidism tends to decrease among children living in Perm region (р = 0.003–0.015) but prevalence of thyroiditis remains stable (р = 0.794). Having assessed prevalence among teenagers, we did not reveal any dynamics in prevalence of thyroid diseases and thyroiditis (р = 0.129–0.248); prevalence of endemic goiter went down in this age group (р = 0.008) whereas prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism grew due to iodine deficiency (р = 0.012). The difference between pathological damage and prevalence of thyroid diseases reached 4.8–38.6 times. Having analyzed created logistic models, we were not able to identify sex or age as predictors of thyroid pathology occurrence.Conclusion. Prevalence of thyroid pathology was established to be by 4.8–38.6 times lower than pathological damage. Iodine deficiency on a given territory calls for developing regional medical and prevention programs aimed at diagnosing and preventing thyroid diseases caused by it.

Introduction. The relevance of the research is attributed to the increased incidence of autoimmune thyroiditis in children, especially those dwelling in contaminated areas. Our objective was to study effects of environmental exposures to industrial chemicals on the course of autoimmune thyroiditis. Materials and methods. In order to establish the relationship between specific features of the course of autoimmune thyroiditis and adverse environmental exposures, we conducted a comparative study of incidence rates of thyroid diseases including thyroiditis, cytotoxicity testing, thyroid status assessment, antioxidant activity assays, and thyroid ultrasound. The observation group consisted of 98 children living the area with the developed metallurgical industry while the comparison group included 23 children living in a recreation area. The groups were matched by age and socio-economic characteristics. Results. We established that thyroiditis incidence rates in the industrially polluted area were almost thrice as high as those in the relatively clean area. The observation group was characterized by smoothed sexual differentiation, earlier development of the autoimmune thyroiditis, higher (up to 1.6 times) frequency of typical diffuse structural changes, and increased thyroid gland. Blood levels of metals having a direct cytotoxic effect on the thyroid gland were 2.0 to 6.7 times higher than normal in the cases compared to their matched controls. The correlation and regression analysis established contribution of chemicals to the increased incidence of autoimmune thyroiditis in children (zinc), antibodies to thyroid gland tissue (lead), thyroid-stimulating hormone (nickel), and decreased resistive indices (lead). Conclusion. High blood levels of lead, nickel and zinc were among the factors having an adverse effect on the course of AIT and thyroid function.

Our research goal was to examine cognitive functions parameters in dynamics among workers employed at an oil extracting facility depending on their work experience under exposure to adverse occupational factors. We estimated cognitive functions in 292 oil and gas extraction operators who were exposed to adverse occupational factors (aromatic hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulphide, occupational noise, labor hardness, and adverse microclimate). The reference group consisted of 65 administrative workers employed at the same enterprise. All the examined people were males aged 20–65; they were divided into several sub-groups depending on their work experience: the 1st subgroup, work experience shorter than 10 years; the 2nd subgroup, 10–20 years; the 3rd sub-group, longer than 20 years. All the subgroups were comparable as per average age (р>0.05). Nervous systems diseases that caused cognitive deficiency were a criterion for exclusion from the research groups. We performed neural-psychological examination using «NS-Psychotest» computer complex («Concept exclusion», short term memory tests for pictures and figures, square number test). To analyze dependence between cognitive disorders and work experience duration in the test and reference groups, we calculated relative risk and its 95% confidence interval (results are given as RR (95% CI)). We also performed one-factor linear regression analysis of dependence on work experience separately for each parameter of examined cognitive functions. Oil and gas extraction operators tended to have 1.3–1.6 times lower cognitive flexibility, picture and number memory, and attention than people who worked under permissible working conditions at their work places. Oil and gas extraction operators with their work experience being equal or exceeding 10 years ran more than 5 times higher risk of cognitive disorders; memory, attention, and analytical activity parameters were lower among them 2–3 times more frequently. Basing on relative risk calculation and one-factor linear regression analysis, we established a correlation between cognitive disorders development and work experience duration. Periodical medical examinations provided for oil and gas extraction operators should include neural-psychological tests that assess memory, attention, and cognitive flexibility since it will allow diagnosing cognitive dysfunction at an early (pre-dementia) stage and revealing people with its minimal signs for further profound examination, prevention activities, and occupational examination.

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