Rose André, Rae William I D, Sweetlove Margaret A, Ngetu Lumko, Benadjaoud Mohamed A, Marais Wayne
Center for Health Systems Research and Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Prince of Wales Hospital, Faculty of Medical Imaging, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
SA J Radiol. 2022 Sep 30;26(1):2495. doi: 10.4102/sajr.v26i1.2495. eCollection 2022.
Occupational exposure to ionising radiation may have detrimental health effects. Longer and more complex fluoroscopic procedures have placed interventionalists at increased occupational health risks especially for developing cataracts in the radiosensitive lenses of the eyes.
This study aimed to determine the prevalence of occupational related cataracts and describe the risk factors for cataracts in occupationally exposed interventionalists compared with unexposed doctors.
A cross-sectional study using multiple methods. A survey was conducted. The radiation workload was determined based on a self-administered questionnaire and dose area product values determined in previous studies. Both groups had slit lamp examinations. The data were analysed analytically using R software version 9.3.
The study included 98 interventionalists. The combined prevalence of posterior sub-capsular (PSC) and cortical cataracts was 18.8% in the exposed and 13.9% in the unexposed group. The prevalence of PSC cataracts in the exposed group was 5.9% and 2.8% in the unexposed group, with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.58; 8.61). Posterior sub-capsular cataracts were more common in the left eye. The increase in cataracts was not statistically significant in the exposed group but is of clinical significance.
The findings are important as they highlight the need for greater vigilance for protecting the radiation healthcare workforce in a developing country setting.
The research is the first of its kind in South Africa and Africa and contributes to determining the prevalence in this highly skilled and occupationally vulnerable group.
职业性接触电离辐射可能对健康产生有害影响。更长、更复杂的荧光镜检查程序使介入放射科医生面临更高的职业健康风险，尤其是在眼睛对辐射敏感的晶状体中患白内障的风险。
本研究旨在确定职业相关白内障的患病率，并描述职业性接触辐射的介入放射科医生与未接触辐射的医生相比患白内障的风险因素。
采用多种方法的横断面研究。进行了一项调查。根据自我填写的问卷确定辐射工作量，并根据先前研究确定的剂量面积乘积值。两组均进行了裂隙灯检查。使用R软件9.3版对数据进行分析。
该研究纳入了98名介入放射科医生。后囊下（PSC）和皮质性白内障的合并患病率在接触组为18.8%，在未接触组为13.9%。接触组PSC白内障的患病率为5.9%，未接触组为2.8%，优势比（OR）为2.2（95%置信区间[CI]：0.58；8.61）。后囊下白内障在左眼更为常见。接触组白内障的增加在统计学上不显著，但具有临床意义。
这些发现很重要，因为它们凸显了在发展中国家环境中加强对辐射医疗工作人员保护的警惕性的必要性。
该研究是南非和非洲同类研究中的首例，有助于确定这一高技能且职业易受伤害群体中的患病率。
