Pathology of the Genitourinary System in Women Who Received Radiation Exposure with Radioactive Iodine During Pregnancy as a Result of the Accident at the Chernobyl NPP

Abstract

We studied the long-term morbidity of the genitourinary system of women irradiated during pregnancy with radioactive iodine as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which accumulated in the thyroid gland, in comparison with that of women whose pregnancy proceeded in the absence of the effect of the radiation factor. The incidence rate in the group of exposed women since 2001 has been higher than in the control group. Chronic inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary system prevailed in the group of exposed women, in contrast to the incidence in the group of non-irradiated women. These changes in the incidence of irradiated pregnant women were associated with two ranges of absorbed doses – 74 mGy and 160 mGy. The detected changes are discussed in this article from the point of view of the sensitivity of certain thyroid genes to the effects of I-131, changes in the production of hormones and disruption of their influence on certain organs and systems of the body.