title: Lack of association between occupational radiation exposure and thyroid nodules in healthcare personnel.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether healthcare workers routinely exposed to low-level ionizing radiation have a higher prevalence of thyroid nodularity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Presence of thyroid nodularity, as assessed by 10-MHz neck ultrasonography, was compared with accumulated radiation doses of 579 exposed university hospital workers (M:F 350:229) obliged to wear a personal dosimeter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nodules were detected in 141/579 (24.3%) subjects. Mean accumulated dose was not different among subjects with and without nodules (14.19+/-28.00 mSv vs 17.71+/-32.89 mSv; P=0.12). Duration of occupational exposure (<10 years vs 10-19 years vs >or=20 years) did not affect prevalence of nodularity. At multivariate analysis, only female gender and age were significant risk factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mildly exposed health workers do not appear to incur any excess risk of thyroid nodularity.
authors.affiliation: Occupational Health Unit, S.Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna, Italy. violante@orsola-malpighi.med.unibo.it
authors.forename: Francesco S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Violante
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bonfiglioli
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lodi
authors.forename: Maurilio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Missere
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mattioli
authors.forename: Giovanni B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Raffi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011830:Radiation Effects; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*