Taormina D P, Rozenblatt S, Guey L T, Gluzman S F, Carlson G A, Havenaar J M, Zakhozha V, Kotov R, Bromet E J
Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
Psychol Med. 2008 Apr;38(4):489-97. doi: 10.1017/S0033291707002462. Epub 2008 Jan 4.
The cognitive and academic outcomes of infants exposed to radiation after the meltdown at Chornobyl have been intensely debated. Western-based investigations indicate that no adverse effects occurred, but local studies reported increased cognitive impairments in exposed compared with non-exposed children. Our initial study found that at age 11 years, school grades and neuropsychological performance were similar in 300 children evacuated to Kiev as infants or in utero compared with 300 classmate controls, yet more evacuee mothers believed that their children had memory problems. This study re-examined the children's performance and academic achievement at age 19 years.
In 2005-2006, we conducted an 8-year follow-up of the evacuees (n=265) and classmate controls (n=261) assessed in Kiev in 1997. Outcomes included university attendance, tests of intelligence, attention, and memory, and subjective appraisals of memory problems. Scores were standardized using a local population-based control group (n=327). Analyses were stratified by parental education.
Evacuees and classmates performed similarly and in the normal range on all tests, and no differential temporal changes were found. The results were comparable for the in utero subsample. The rates of university attendance and self-reported memory problems were also similar. Nevertheless, the evacuee mothers were almost three times as likely to report that their children had memory problems compared with controls.
Chornobyl did not influence the cognitive functioning of exposed infants although more evacuee mothers still believed that their offspring had memory problems. These lingering worries reflect a wider picture of persistent health concerns as a consequence of the accident.
切尔诺贝利核事故后受辐射影响的婴儿的认知和学业成果一直存在激烈争论。西方的调查表明未出现不良影响，但当地研究报告称，与未受辐射的儿童相比，受辐射儿童的认知障碍有所增加。我们最初的研究发现，11岁时，300名婴儿期或子宫内就被疏散到基辅的儿童与300名同班同学对照组儿童相比，学业成绩和神经心理表现相似，但更多被疏散儿童的母亲认为自己的孩子存在记忆问题。本研究重新考察了这些儿童19岁时的表现和学业成就。
2005 - 2006年，我们对1997年在基辅接受评估的被疏散者（n = 265）和同班同学对照组（n = 261）进行了为期8年的随访。结果包括大学入学情况、智力、注意力和记忆力测试，以及对记忆问题的主观评估。分数使用当地基于人群的对照组（n = 327）进行标准化。分析按父母教育程度分层。
被疏散者和同班同学在所有测试中的表现相似且处于正常范围，未发现时间上的差异变化。子宫内亚样本的结果也具有可比性。大学入学率和自我报告的记忆问题发生率也相似。然而，与对照组相比，被疏散儿童的母亲报告孩子有记忆问题的可能性几乎是对照组的三倍。
切尔诺贝利事故并未影响受辐射婴儿的认知功能，尽管更多被疏散儿童的母亲仍然认为自己的孩子存在记忆问题。这些挥之不去的担忧反映了事故导致的对健康问题持续关注的更广泛情况。
