t(14;18) Translocations in Dioxin-Exposed Workers.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if occupational exposure to dioxins is associated with an increased frequency of t(14;18) translocations. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis of serum dioxin levels and t(14;18) frequencies in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 218 former chemical plant workers and 150 population controls. RESULTS: The workers had significantly higher geometric mean serum levels of 2,3,7,8-TCDD (26.2 vs 2.5 ppt) and TEQ (73.8 vs 17.7 ppt) than controls. There were no significant differences in the prevalence or frequency of t(14;18) translocations in the workers compared to controls. Among former workers with current or past chloracne who were t(14;18) positive, the frequency of translocations significantly increased with quartiles of 2,3,7,8-TCDD and TEQ. CONCLUSION: Chloracne appears to modulate the association between dioxin exposure and increased frequency of t(14;18) translocations.

Risk factors for wheezing in Ukrainian children: Ukraine European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood Group.

The prevalence of wheezing in children varies widely around the world. The reasons for this geographic variability remain unclear but may be related in part to exposures in the home environment during pregnancy and early childhood. We investigated the prenatal and early childhood risk factors for wheezing symptoms among 2127 children aged 6-8 years who were participants in the Ukrainian component of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC). Cases included the 169 children whose parents answered yes to the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Children (ISAAC) question: 'Has your child had wheezing or whistling in the chest in the past 12 months' during the ELSPAC assessment of the children at age 7. These were compared with the 1861 children in the cohort whose parents answered 'no' to this question. Factors significantly associated with increased risk of wheezing illness at age 7 in adjusted analyses included mother's asthma [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 3.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22, 9.85]; mother's allergy problems (OR 1.43, [1.00, 2.05]); rarely playing with other children at age 3 (OR 1.84, [1.09, 3.11]); water intrusion (OR 1.62, [1.09, 2.39]) and inadequate heating of the home (OR 1.52, [1.06, 2.16]) during pregnancy. Factors protective of wheezing at age 7 included being first-born (adjusted OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.50, 0.98); living in the city of Dniprodzerzynsk as compared with Kyiv (OR 0.36, [0.24, 0.54]) and weekly contact with furry animals (OR 0.44, [0.20, 0.97]) before age 3. The constellation of risk factors for wheezing in Ukrainian children is similar to that of children in other parts of the world. Known risk factors do not account for the significant between-city variability of wheezing in Ukrainian children.

[The prevalence of asthma-related symptoms among children in three Ukrainian cities with environmental problems (preliminary results)].

In 2002 authors initiated a US-Ukraine collaborative study on bronchial asthma among 2177 6-8 year old children who resided in Kyiv, Dniprodzerzhinsk and Mariupol, Ukraine in 2002 and who were participants in the Family and Children of Ukraine Longitudinal Cohort Study. The overall goal of the study is to investigate the epidemiology and risk factors for asthma and asthma--related symptoms among these children. The study design comprises of three phases. During the first phase Questionnaires including the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) core module on wheeze, as well as questions about other respiratory symptoms (including night cough and phlegm) were given to parents of 2177 children aged 6-8 years. The authors examined the prevalence of wheezing and dry cough at night not associated with colds during the past year among the surveyed children. The parent-reported prevalence of wheezing was significantly different among these three Ukrainian cities: 14.4% in Kyiv, 19% in Mariupol and 5.7% in Dniprodzerzhinsk. The prevalence of dry cough at night not associated with colds was also different in Kyiv, Mariupol and Dniprodzerzhinsk and was 11.4%, 6.9% and 6.9% respectively). The authors conclude that the prevalence of wheezing illness and dry cough at night not associated with colds during the past year varies among Ukrainian cities with the highest prevalence in kyiv, the most "westernized" of these cities.

Breast cancer trends in two oblasts of Belarus and the Chernobyl accident.

The 1986 Chernobyl accident contaminated 23% of Belarus with radioactive iodine and long half-life radionuclides. Radiation causes breast cancer. Population-based breast cancer incidence data from the Belarus National Cancer Registry were used to study secular trends and urban-rural differences, and determine whether an effect of Chernobyl radiation exposure was discernable. Trends in age-standardized incidences in Gomel and Vitebsk oblasts maximally and minimally exposed to Chernobyl radiation, respectively, were compared for 1978-2003 among all women, and women aged 30-49, separately for urban and rural areas. Incidences were higher and increasing more rapidly in urban than rural areas of both oblasts, annually increasing 0.150 +/- 0.008 vs. 0.098 +/- 0.007 new cases per 10,000 persons, p < 0.00005. Levels were similar in urban Gomel and Vitebsk, and slightly higher in rural Vitebsk than rural Gomel. For ages 30-49 trends in urban and rural Gomel and rural Vitebsk were similar to the all-ages rural trend: common urban/rural Gomel slope 0.098 +/- 0.015, rural Vitebsk slope 0.091 +/- 0.022. In urban Vitebsk, significant but erratic nonlinearity suggested stabilizing incidence since the mid-nineties after a sharp rise. However, recent declines in slopes, greater in Vitebsk, are nonsignificant. Secular breast cancer increases in Gomel have been generally consistent for 26 years. Secular increases in Vitebsk have been similar, but could be slowing. However, these data provide no convincing evidence for Chernobyl-induced breast cancer in Belarus.