Cell Composition of Peripheral Blood in Residents of the Techa River Region Exposed to Radiation in Utero.

The results of a study on the composition of peripheral blood cells in residents of the Techa River region (Chelyabinsk oblast) who were exposed to radiation both in utero and postnatally are presented. The study was conducted a long time after the onset of radiation exposure (1963–2017). The total in utero and postnatal exposure doses to red bone marrow (RBM) varied within the range of 1–1905 mGy. The comparison group was composed of people residing in the same administrative territories but who were exposed only postnatally. The parameters of the erythrocyte, thrombocyte, and leukocyte lineage were studied based on age periodization. The mean group values of the peripheral blood parameters in people of both the in utero and postnatally exposed groups corresponded with the normal values of the physiological parameters. The differences in the thrombocyte and erythrocyte lineage among exposed people were mainly noted in the groups of middle-aged and elderly people under study. The most notable changes occurred with the erythrocyte number, hemoglobin level, and color index of the blood. The hemoglobin level was higher in men of all ages exposed in utero than that in members of the comparison group. When assessing the leukocyte compartment of the peripheral blood in the people exposed in utero and postnatally, various changes were detected in different cell lineages. Differences in the values in members of the comparison group were noted in all cell lineages in the elderly men and women studied. The neutrophil values were lower, whereas the lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil, and basophil parameters were higher than those in the comparison group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]