Comparative assessment of blood levels of homocysteine, hormones and minerals in children with different levels of physical growth living near the Chornobyl exclusion zone

Abstract

Objective: We compared thecontent of homocysteine, hormones and minerals of the blood in the children with different levels of physical development living in the settlements near Chornobyl exclusion zone. Methods: We used instrumental, laboratory, mathematical and statistical methods in the study. Results: 158 children (78 boys and 80 girls) from Polisskyi district, Kyiv oblast were examined within the projectsof the European Commission in Ukraine «Health and Ecological Programmes Connected with Chornobyl Exclusion Zone: Development, Training and Coordination of Health-Related Projects» and Rhône-Alpes Regional Council (France). The studied territory has remained contaminated with radioactive substances after Chornobyl accident until the present day. 137Cs incorporation was shown to affect negatively the physical development (PD) of the children. 137Cs radionuclides cause the disorders of cellular energy, affect negatively thyroid hormone genesis.A significantly high level of free triiodothyronine (T3), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and P was established in adolescents with abnormal low PD in comparison with the children with abnormal high PD. Correlations between the indices of PD, endocrine system and mineral metabolism, registered in a group of examined children, reflect the physiological response of the organism to the cell damage associated with an exposure to 137Cs radionuclides. Comparison of the values of separate metabolic indices with the reference values does not always reflect objectively the severity of metabolic disorders. To identify the metabolic disorders under conditions of constant incorporation of 137Cs radionuclides in a child’s organism, it is necessary to use the information on the associations among several metabolic indices in a group of children living in the territory suffered from the accident at Chornobyl nuclear power plant.