THYROID CANCER INCIDENCE IN THE POPULATION OF UKRAINE AND ITS EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS: IONIZING RADIATION AND ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS

Abstract

Objective: to estimate the risk of thyroid cancer incidence in the population of Ukraine in connection with its exposure to radioactive iodine fallout of Chornobyl origin and the use of pesticides in agricultural production in the country. Object of study. Incidence rates of thyroid cancer in the population of Ukraine in 2001-2019, average regional radiation doses absorbed by the thyroid because of the Chornobyl accident, the volume of use of various groups of pesticides in the regions of Ukraine. Research methods: statistical, mathematical and cartographic. Results. The study covering the period of 2001–2019, revealed significant temporal and regional differences in the thyroid cancer incidence in the population of the Ukraine regions in 2001–2019. The existence of a significant correlation between the thyroid cancer incidence and the amount of radiation exposure to the thyroid associated with the Chornobyl accident was established. The existence of a significant correlation between the thyroid cancer incidence and the degree of pesticide use intensity in agriculture in the Ukraine regions was established. A significant value of multiple correlation r = 0.5866 (p < 0.05) was found between the thyroid cancer incidence in Ukraine and the average regional radiation doses and the pesticide use intensity in agricultural production in the country. Conclusions. A reliable value of the multiple correlation between the value of the average regional radiation exposure doses to the thyroid associated with the Chornobyl accident and the degree of pesticide use intensity in the national economy of Ukraine and the thyroid cancer incidence in the population was determined. Key words: ionizing radiation, pesticides, thyroid gland, morbidity, cancer.