[The structure of the causes of death following substantial occupational chronic total-body gamma irradiation].

The paper is concerned with analysis of all lethal outcomes in a followed-up group of patients with chronic radiation sickness (931 patients) from external occupational gamma irradiation. In a majority of cases over a 2-2.5 year period a mean dose of total irradiation was 3.26 +/- 0.13 Gy. During a follow-up period of 37 years 177 patients died. Only 2 patients (2.2%) died of chronic radiation sickness resulting from anaplastic anemia. In the first decade (1952-1961) malignant neoplasia, including leukemia accounted for 42.2%; in the second decade the rate for leukemia was 26.2 decreasing to 5.2%; the rates for tumors were 18.4, 20.6, 23.5%, those for CHD were 7.7-41.8%. Despite high doses of irradiation the tumor mortality rate was 22.6%, coinciding with that in industrial countries (15-23%).