A STUDY OF LAYERED LENS CHANGE IN THE PROCESS OF CATARACT FORMATION IN PERSONS EXPOSED TO RADIATION AS A RESULT OF RADIATION ACCIDENTS IN THE SOUTHERN URALS

Abstract

Up to now there is no clear understanding of health risk and type of dose dependence for the population chronically exposed within a range of low and average dose levels (to 1Gy). In this respect studies performed in cohorts with a sufficient number of persons can have a significant potential in providing necessary information. Objective: to study peculiarities of lens opacity in exposed persons at later time after chronic radiation exposure with due account for dose impact and nonradiation factors. The study includes patients from the URCRM registry of exposed population examined by an ophthalmologist in the period 2016-2018 (total 1,377 persons). The same technique of medical examination with photofixation of lens opacity was applied to all examined individuals. A case-control technique was used to conduct the study. Individual exposure doses to lens were calculated on the basis of TRDS-2016 for the first time within the framework of the present study. As a result of the performed study among persons exposed to long-term ionizing low-dose radiation we have determined an exposure dose impact on risk growth of opacity in the posterior capsule and lens nucleus. No reliable statistical dependence of lens change with an increasing exposure dose in anterior capsule and cortical layers as well as colour change of the lens nucleus was obtained. Belonging to different ethnical groups showed no impact on priority opacification development in any lens layers.