Clinical-psychopathological and psychological characteristics of exposed persons belonging to various ethnic groups of the population of the Southern Urals in the long-term period after radiation exposure

Introduction. In connection with the diversity of the ethnic composition of the population of the Southern Urals, when assessing the state of mental health of residents of territories exposed to radiation, it becomes important to take into account ethnic characteristics. Objective: to study the clinical-psychopathological, psychological and psychophysiological characteristics of persons belonging to various ethnic groups of the population of the Southern Urals exposed to radiation. Materials and Methods. The examination of 157 persons born in 1957 and older, living in radiation-contaminated areas, in settlements located in the Techa river basin has been carried out. The study sample is divided into two groups, comparable in terms of sex and age: group 1 (n=90) incudes persons of the Slavic language group, group 2 (n=67) includes representatives of the Turkic language group. Methods used: clinical-psychopathological, experimental-psychological (Asthenic State Scale, Subjective Asthenia Scale, Simple Visual-Motor Reaction, Mental Status Brief Scale, Memorization Curve), methods of statistical processing of materials. Results and Discussion. According to the results of clinical examination, organic asthenic and organic cognitive disorders are most often diagnosed in both groups. Sleep disorders, cognitive impairments, and asthenia prevail in the clinical-psychopathological syndrome structure. The results of clinical-psychopathological and psychological diagnostics demonstrate a decrease in the functional state of the central nervous system, a deterioration in cognitive functions in most of the subjects of both groups. In the 2nd group (persons of Turkic language group), manifestations of physical asthenia (p=0.033) and a reduced volume of direct information retrieval (p=0.008) are statistically significantly more common. In group 1 (persons of Slavic language group), there are statistically significantly more frequent complaints of difficulty concentrating (p=0.040) and anxiety-phobic symptoms (p=0.049). Conclusion. In the long-term period after radiation exposure, residents of the South Urals of different ethnicity do not reveal significant differences in the clinical-psychopathological syndrome structure and clinical manifestations of mental disorders.