A multilevel analysis of long-term psychological distress among Belarusians affected by the Chernobyl disaster.

BACKGROUND: Radiation contamination and sociopolitical instability following the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster have had a profound impact on Belarus. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors that impact long-term mental health outcomes of this population almost 20 years after the disaster. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: In-person interviews were conducted with 381 men and women from two geographic areas of differing radiation contamination within Belarus. Participants completed surveys of demographics, psychosocial factors and psychological distress. Individual-level characteristics were combined with household-level measures of radiation contamination exposure and family characteristics to create multilevel predictive models of psychological distress. RESULTS: Between-household effects accounted for 20% of variability in depression and anxiety scores, but only 8% of variability in somatization scores. Degree of chronic daily stressors showed a significant positive relationship with psychological distress, whereas mastery/controllability showed a significant inverse relationship with distress. At household level, perceived family problems, but not level of residential radiation contamination, was the best predictor of distress. CONCLUSIONS: Multilevel modelling indicates that long-term psychological distress among Belarusians affected by the Chernobyl disaster is better predicted by stress-moderating psychosocial factors present in one's daily life than by level of residential radiation contamination.

Array comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH) analysis of premenopausal breast cancers from a nuclear fallout area and matched cases from Western New York.

High-resolution array comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH) analysis of DNA copy number aberrations (CNAs) was performed on breast carcinomas in premenopausal women from Western New York (WNY) and from Gomel, Belarus, an area exposed to fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. Genomic DNA was isolated from 47 frozen tumour specimens from 42 patients and hybridised to arrays spotted with more than 3000 BAC clones. In all, 20 samples were from WNY and 27 were from Belarus. In total, 34 samples were primary tumours and 13 were lymph node metastases, including five matched pairs from Gomel. The average number of total CNAs per sample was 76 (range 35-134). We identified 152 CNAs (92 gains and 60 losses) occurring in more than 10% of the samples. The most common amplifications included gains at 8q13.2 (49%), at 1p21.1 (36%), and at 8q24.21 (36%). The most common deletions were at 1p36.22 (26%), at 17p13.2 (26%), and at 8p23.3 (23%). Belarussian tumours had more amplifications and fewer deletions than WNY breast cancers. HER2/neu negativity and younger age were also associated with a higher number of gains and fewer losses. In the five paired samples, we observed more discordant than concordant DNA changes. Unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis revealed two distinct groups of tumours: one comprised predominantly of Belarussian carcinomas and the other largely consisting of WNY cases. In total, 50 CNAs occurred significantly more commonly in one cohort vs the other, and these included some candidate signature amplifications in the breast cancers in women exposed to significant radiation. In conclusion, our high-density aCGH study has revealed a large number of genetic aberrations in individual premenopausal breast cancer specimens, some of which had not been reported before. We identified a distinct CNA profile for carcinomas from a nuclear fallout area, suggesting a possible molecular fingerprint of radiation-associated breast cancer.

Chromatin image analysis provides new evidence of the relation of lymphocytes to cytokines and sCAM in the inflammatory nature of atherosclerosis.

Comparative analysis of cytokines and sCAM secretion within the lymphocyte chromatin state are possible evidence of inflammatory reactions in atherosclerosis. Two types of response were studied: coagulation and fibrinolysis (incubation of blood clot within 6 hours at 37 degrees C) and standardized viscosimetric flow using a rotational viscometer (shear rate 100 l/s, 60 seconds at 37 degrees C, and incubation within 6 hours at 37 degrees C). Cytokines IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 (Immunotech, France), endothelin-1, and soluble cell adhesion molecules (sCAM) sP- and sE-selectin, sICAM-1, and sVCAM-1 (R&D, UK) have been determined using ELISA kits (photometer, Biomek-1000, Beckman, USA). The chromatin of lymphocyte nuclei was studied using the computer TV morphodensitometry system DiaMorph (Russia) and smears dyed specifically for DNA. Correlational changes in morphodensitometric (MDM) parameters and cytokine and sCAM levels in two tests were compared to initial levels. After rheologic testing, lymphocyte nuclei as a whole had not changed, but chromatin activity had decreased. Reorganization of nuclei after the coagulation test was observed. Endothelin-1 and sP- and sE-selectin levels were not related to function of lymphocytes (by MDM data) as seen in both tests; it is probable that another cell-cell communication mechanism had been switched on. We established a strong correlation between chromatin activity of lymphocytes and the serum concentration of IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-10, which are the active participants in the pro- and anti-inflammatory program in atherogenesis. Results are evidence of the role of lymphocytes in pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine reactions and cytokine-like sCAM activity in atherosclerosis.