Hypertension incidence among workers at the Mayak nuclear complex

The objective this study is to estimate relative risk (RR) of hypertension incidence among the Mayak workers with protracted occupational exposure to ionizing radiation. The study cohort comprised 22,377 workers employed at one of the main plants between 1948 and 1982 and attended periodic medical examination up to 31.12.2013. All cohort members were exposed to external gamma-radiation and/or internal alpha-radiation due to their professional activities. Mean cumulative absorbed liver dose from external gamma-radiation was 0.45±0.65 Gy in males and 0.37±0.56 Gy in females; mean cumulative absorbed liver dose from internal alpha-particles was 0.23±0.65 Gy in males and 0.44±1.93 Gy in females. RR of hypertension was estimated using AMFIT module of EPICURE software. Hypertension was diagnosed in 8,425 cohort members, including 5,745 males and 2,680 females. Attained age, duration of employment, age at starting work, calendar years of employment, body mass index (BMI), and smoking status affected the risk values. Relative risk of hypertension was higher in workers with cumulative liver dose from external gamma-radiation > 0.10 Gy. The risk of hypertension was significantly higher in workers with cumulative liver dose from internal alpha-radiation ranged between 0.10 and 0.15; 0.25 and 1.00 Gy than in workers with internal dose