Epidemiological Studies of the Eye Pathology over a Long-Term Follow-Up Period in the Population Affected by Chronic Radiation Exposure in the Southern Urals

Abstract

Objective of the study: to analyze cataract incidence rates over the period from 1955 through 2019 in the cohort of the population exposed in the Southern Urals and to analyze radiation risk of cataract incidence.Methods. For the first time cataract incidence was assessed over a long- term period from 1955 through 2019 in people who were chronically exposed in a low-to-moderate dose range. The registry of eye pathologies created in the URCRM was used as the basis for the study. Analysis of incidence rates was conducted with account of the individualized doses to the lens. The incidence rates were calculated using the methods of medical statistics per 1,000 people. The odds ration (OR) of cataract development was also evaluated using the case-control study.Results. In total the studied group consisted of 14,751 people (1955–2019) who underwent examinations in the outpatient department of the URCRM. As of December 2020 4,658 patients with cataract were registered. According to the findings of the study (1955–2019) it has been stated that cataract incidence increases with age and thus with the aging of the cohort, improvement of the quality of the diagnosing procedures and examination of the patients. The number of cataracts in women significantly exceeds that in men (3,169 and 1,489, respectively). Standardized incidence rate of cataract over all the years of the follow-up is 172.94 (95 % CI: 168.10–177.78). In the course of the study of the cataract incidence dependence on the dose to the lens, it has been revealed that cataract incidence tends to increase with the increasing dose. Risk value of cataract development (OR) depending on the dose to the lens obtained as a result of the case-control study made up 1.10 (95 % CI: 1.00–1.21).Conclusion. The incidence of cataract in the studied cohort increases with the follow-up periods. The number of cataracts in women is greater than that in men, the age characteristics are approximately the same. A trend of increased effect of the dose on the increase in the risk of cataracts was established based on the results of the performed analysis.

Keywords

• chronic radiation exposure
• incidence rates
• cataract
• case-control