title: Hereditary minisatellite mutations among the offspring of Estonian Chernobyl cleanup workers.
abstract: A single accidental event such as the fallout released from the Chernobyl reactor in 1986 can expose millions of people to non-natural environmental radiation. Ionizing radiation increases the frequency of germline mutations in experimental studies, but the genetic effects of radiation in humans remain largely undefined. To evaluate the hereditary effects of low radiation doses, we compared the minisatellite mutation rates of 155 children born to Estonian Chernobyl cleanup workers after the accident with those of their siblings born prior to it. All together, 94 de novo paternal minisatellite mutations were found at eight tested loci (52 and 42 mutants among children born after and before the accident, respectively). The minisatellite mutation rate was nonsignificantly increased among children born after the accident (0.042 compared to 0.036, OR 1.33, 95% CI 0.80-2.20). Furthermore, there was some indication of an increased mutation rate among offspring born after the accident to workers who had received doses of 20 cSv or above compared with their siblings born before the accident (OR 3.0, 95% CI 0.97-9.30). The mutation rate was not associated with the father's age (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.94-1.15) or the sex of the child (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.50-1.79). Our results are consistent with both no effect of radiation on minisatellite mutations and a slight increase at dose levels exceeding 20 cSv.
authors.affiliation: Research and Environmental Surveillance, STUK-Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, P.O. Box 14, 00881 Helsinki, Finland. anne.kiuru@stuk.fi
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kiuru
authors.forename: Anssi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Auvinen
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luokkamäki
authors.forename: Kaisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Makkonen
authors.forename: Toomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Veidebaum
authors.forename: Mare
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tekkel
authors.forename: Mati
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahu
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hakulinen
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Servomaa
authors.forename: Tapio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rytömaa
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mustonen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D009154:Mutation; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D018812:Paternal Exposure; D011210:Power Plants; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000528:radiation effects; D014455:Ukraine