Risk of death from all causes in the Urals Cohort of Exposed Population Offspring

Despite numerous studies, evidence regarding the impact of radiation exposure to parents’ gonads on the health of their offspring remains limited and contradictory. The accumulated data on radiation exposure among the population of the Southern Urals, resulting from the activities of the «Mayak» Industrial Association, provide an opportunity to study the long-term hereditary effects of radiation in humans. The aim of the study is to assess all-cause mortality rates and to obtain direct estimates of death risk in offspring included in the Urals Cohort of Exposed Population Offspring using doses to parental gonads. Materials and methods: The cohort includes 31154 offspring followed up from 1950 to 2020 in the Chelyabinsk and Kurgan ‑ regions. During the follow-up, 1093621 person years were accumulated and 3774 deaths were recorded. Parental gonadal doses were calculated using the TRDS-2016 (medians: mother 11 mGy, father 8 mGy, combined 34 mGy). Descriptive analysis and mortality risk estimation were conducted using of R and EPICURE software packages. Results and discussion: In the mortality structure, injuries and poisonings predominate, followed by circulatory and respiratory diseases. Male mortality is higher than female. Standardized rates did not exceed national data from the World Health Organization. A significant excess ‑ relative risk of all cause death was found for all doses, as well as for respiratory diseases from maternal ‑ gonadal dose. Modification of the dose dependence by non radiation factors was detected. Conclusion: The obtained estimates are preliminary. Extended follow-up is required to confirm the observed relationships.

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