Mental health morbidity in the Russian cohort of Chernobyl clean-up workers: preliminary analysis

Results of 27-year follow-up study of mental health morbidity in the Russian cohort of Chernobyl clean-up workers is analyzed in the article. The cohort size was 89,000 clean up workers, males. Average age of the cohort members at exposure was 34 years, mean external dose was 132 mGy. During the follow up period from 1986 over 2012 41,417 cases of mental and behavioral disorders were detected. Mental health disorders coding error was 2%. Duration of the work within 30-km Chernobyl zone from 1986 through 1987 is taken as integral measure of effects of stressors: statistically significant increase in incidence of mental health disorders (p