Mineral bone density in women of reproductive age living close to the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site: a cross-sectional study from Kazakhstan

A Kystaubaeva, Marzhan Dauletyarova, N Mausymbaeva, ZA Khismetova, Umutzhan S. Samarova, Г А Танышева, Zhansulu Akilzhanova, A M Grjibovski

2014

Closed access Metadata (CSL-JSON)
DOI 10.1093/eurpub/cku166.118
Data confidence 70 medium
How this score is calculated

It is built from checkable properties of the record itself: whether the article has a DOI, how many independent sources confirmed its data, whether the required fields are filled in, and how recent the latest confirmation is. Disagreement between sources and a missing identifier lower it. A value of 80 or above means the record was published without further checking; 60 to 79 means it is published at reduced confidence, with a manual check advisable. A record verified by an editor by hand is never pushed below 90 by a recalculation. This scores our data about the article, not the article itself.

Abstract

Background The prevalence of osteo¬porosis is increasing worldwide representing a considerable public health problem particularly among women in menopause. Earlier studies have suggested that exposure to ionizing radiation reduced bone mineral density and may lead to osteoporosis. However, the effect of radiation on the mineral bone density in descendants of the exposed remains largely unknown. The objective of this study was to assess bone density among women of reproductive age, whose parents and grandparents were exposed to the fallouts from the above-ground nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk test site. Methods The study included 304 women aged 15-49 years who are daughters and granddaughters of those who were exposed to radiation. Bone mineral density was studied using Sunlight Omnisense 7000 densitometer (Sunlight Medical Ltd, Israel). Bone mineral density (BMD) is based on the WHO criteria and is presented as T-scores and the prevalence of low BMD (osteopenia and osteoporosis combined). Bone quality index (BQI) is also presented. The data are presented for three geographic zones ranging from the farthest (least polluted) to the closest (most polluted) to the test site. Means were compared using one-way ANOVA. Proportions were compared with chi-squared tests. Results The prevalence of low BMD was 34.5% (95%CI:23.6-47.3), 47.7% (95%CI:41.3-54.3) and 58.3% (95%CI:38.8-72.5) among participants living in the farthest, middle and closest to the test site zones (p for linear trend = 0.114). Mean BQI index was 89.7 (SD = 12.5), 86.6 (SD = 17.7) and 86.1 (SD = 15.7) for the same geographic zones as above (p = 0.424). Corresponding means for T-index were 86.4 (SD = 0.12), 83.0 (SD = 0.15) and 82.7 (SD = 0.15), p = 0.465. Conclusions Our results suggest that a substantial proportion of women of reproductive age have low bone mineral density. The prevalence of low bone mineral density is greater among those whose parents or grandparents lived closer to the nuclear test site. The differences in BQI index and T-score were in the same direction, but did not reach the level of statistical significance. Larger studies are needed to support or refute our findings. Key messages Substantial proportion of women of reproductive age have low bone mineral density. The prevalence of low bone mineral density is greater among those whose parents or grandparents lived closer to the nuclear test site.