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Hypothyroidism among former workers of a nuclear weapons facility
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Hypothyroidism among former workers of a nuclear weapons facility

Anna Leavey, Arthur L Frank, Barbara Pinson, Sara Shepherd and Igor Burstyn
American journal of industrial medicine, v 54(12), pp 955-964
Dec 2011
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20979
PMID: 21692096
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Body Mass Index United States - epidemiology Confidence Intervals Risk Assessment Occupational Health Humans Middle Aged Occupational Diseases - etiology Logistic Models Male Thyrotropin - radiation effects Hypothyroidism - etiology Nuclear Weapons Female Hypothyroidism - epidemiology Surveys and Questionnaires Occupational Diseases - epidemiology Odds Ratio Population Surveillance Radiation, Ionizing Texas - epidemiology
Ionizing radiation alters thyroid function, and workers at a nuclear weapons facility may be exposed to above environmental levels of radiation. Hypothyroid status was determined for 622 former workers of a nuclear weapons facility located in Texas, using a combination of measured thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and thyroid medication history, as part of an on-going health surveillance program. We classified 916 unique job titles into 35 job categories. According to the most stringent TSH definition used in this study (0.3-3.0 IU/ml), 174 (28.0%) former workers were considered to be hypothyroid; of these 66 (41.8%) were females and 108 (23.3%) were males. In logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, and smoking status, only having worked as a material handler (n = 18) exhibited an elevated risk of developing hypothyroidism compared to other jobs (OR 3.88, 95% CI 1.43-11.07). This is one of the jobs with suspected exposure to radiation. No excess risk of hypothyroidism was observed for any of the other job categories. There is suggestive evidence that only material handlers at this nuclear weapons facility may have elevated risk of hypothyroidism; further evaluation of thyroid health in this population is warranted.

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2 citations in Web of Science
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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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