title: Thyroid ultrasound findings in a follow-up survey of children from three Japanese prefectures: Aomori, Yamanashi, and Nagasaki.
abstract: We conducted ultrasound thyroid screening in cohort of 4,365 children aged between 3 to 18 years in three Japanese prefectures (Aomori, Yamanashi, and Nagasaki) using the same procedures as used in the Fukushima Health Survey. Forty-four children had nodules ≥ 5.1 mm in diameter or cysts ≥ 20.1 mm in diameter detected at the first screening, and 31 of these children underwent the second follow-up survey. We collected information from thyroid ultrasound examinations and final clinical diagnoses and re-categorized the thyroid findings after the second examination. Twenty children had nodules ≥ 5.1 mm in diameter or cysts ≥ 20.1 mm in diameter at the second examination; of these, one child was diagnosed with a thyroid papillary carcinoma and the remaining 19 children were diagnosed with possibly benign nodules such as adenomas, adenomatous nodules, and adenomatous goiters. A further 11 children were re-categorized as "no further examinations were required." Our results suggest that ultrasound thyroid findings in children may change with a relatively short-term passing period, and that thyroid cancer may exist at a very low but certain frequency in the general childhood population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Strategic Collaborative Research, Center for promotion of collaborative research on radiation and environment health effects, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayashida
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Misa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imaizumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimura
authors.affiliation: The Third Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumihiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Furuya
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan.
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okubo
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Asari
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nigawara
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Sanae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Midorikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kotani
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakaji
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ohtsuru
authors.affiliation: The First Department of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akamizu
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Showa General Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitaoka
authors.affiliation: Department of Thyroid and Endocrinology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan [2] Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Shunichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takamura
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D014463:Ultrasonography