RESUMO
Objective To investigate the micronucleus rate of peripheral blood lymphocytes in radiation workers exposed to chronic low dose ionizing radiation in Jiangsu province to adopt corresponding protective measures. Methods From January to December 2019, 504 in-service radiation workers were taken as the radiation group, 105 healthy adults who were to be engaged in radiation work by pre-job occupational health examination were served as the control group. We compared the micronucleus rate of peripheral blood lymphocytes measured by conventional culture. Results The micronucleus rate in the radiation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.001) and the micronucleus rate in the female radiation workers was higher than that in the male (P < 0.01); The difference of micronucleus rate in different age groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05), among which aged 41～50 years being higher than that of those aged 21～30 years. Besides, The difference of micronucleus rate between different working age groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05), with higher rates in the 21～30 year range than in the 0～10 year range. (P < 0.05). Differential micronucleus rates among different types of work were statistically significant (P < 0.01), with the highest rate of micronucleus among staff in radiotherapy positions compared to other positions. What’s more, the highest rate of micronucleus among radiology staff in units of different levels was found in municipal hospitals, with statistically significant differences in micronucleus rates between provincial hospitals, enterprises (P < 0.05) and municipal hospitals (P < 0.01). Conclusion The micronucleus rate of radiation workers was significantly higher than that of non-contact personnel, and the micronucleus rate of female radiation workers is higher than that of men. Moreover, the highest rate was found among radiation workers. Therefore, radiation protection and daily management of this population should be strengthened.