Return to Chernobyl: Analyses of indicators of Chernobyl register in Israel

This article deals with the analysis of morbidity among immigrants who came from the regions of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus affected by the Chernobyl disaster – these immigrants were registered in the Chernobyl registry in Israel (CRI). Since October 1989 to the present time more than 1 million people including about 350 thousand people that lived in the Chernobyl region had left former Soviet Union to permanent residence in Israel. This group represents 5 % of Israel's population and 28% of all immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Altogether there are 113,500 people registered in the CRI, including about 1,700 liquidators of the Chernobyl accident. People aged 65 years and older make up 25.2 % of the total number of persons under supervision in the CRI. Analysis of the results of observations for the period after the Chernobyl accident shows that for all categories of the population, who arrived in Israel from the regions affected by the Chernobyl accident, there has been an increase in the frequency of non-cancer diseases. There is also an increase of somatic diseases prevalence, and among them cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some others take the leading place. For example, the incidence of diabetes for contingent of the CRI (all ages for the 1996–2013 years of observation) was 1.5 times higher compared to the general population of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and 1.75 times – compared with the data for the residents of Israel. Higher levels of coronary heart disease and stroke were observed in immigrants from the Chernobyl region for the age group from 51 years and older compared to immigrants from the former Soviet Union. It was also found that rates of cancer pathology were on average higher than in the general Israeli population for immigrants from the Chernobyl region, which were in adolescence and early adulthood (13–18 years) in the year of the Chernobyl accident (1986). This applies to such kinds of diseases as breast cancer, colon cancer, uterine cancer and ovarian cancer. Morbidity of immigrants from older age groups (born in 1926–1935 and 1936–1955), which were from 31 to 60 years old in the year of the Chernobyl accident, does not statistically differ from that of the population of Israel as a whole (with the exception of colon cancer in women). It should be noted that significant differences in leukemia and thyroid cancer incidence were not observed between compared contingents. Increase incidence of some cancer types for immigrants from the Chernobyl region compared to immigrants from other parts of the former Soviet Union may be indicative of possible long-term effects of radiation during their stay in the area of radioactive contamination.

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