The Impact of Radiation pollution of Environment on students’ physical Development and health

Abstract

Aim: To study the impact of small doses of radiation pollution of environment on the physical development and health of students from different areas of residence. materials and methods: The study was conducted at Polissya National University (Zhytomyr, Ukraine) during 2012-2020. 647 students of different specialties in the age of 17-23 were interviewed about the use of preventive measures to eliminate the consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) accident in 1986 and other factors of radiation pollution of environment. In addition, 127 students who were born, lived for some time or periodically lived in the area of low doses of radioactive contamination (58 males and 69 females) and 238 students who lived in the clean area from radioactive contamination (113 males and 125 females) were interviewed to compare the samples. Results: The comparative analysis of the students’ physical development from different areas of residence showed that the students from the clean area have better indicators of average body height, body weight, Erisman index with no significant differences (P>0.05). Significant differences were revealed in the indicators of the circumference of the chest and the dynamometry of the hand (P<0.05-0.01). Conclusions: It was established that long-term residence in the area with low doses of radioactive contamination has a negative impact on the physical development and health of the students. The students who have lived for a long time in the area of radioactive contamination more often suffer from a disease, miss classes and get tired faster during physical education sessions. It was clarified that the majority of the students are not involved in health preservation activities, but only in cases when they face significant health problems associated with the need to see a doctor, disability, etc.