Original Articles
21 September 2022
Vol. 44 No. 3 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.4081/gimle.567

Thyroid parameters variations in healthcare workers and students exposed to low-dose ionizing radiations

Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
76
Views
22
Downloads

Authors

Sabina Sernia
sabina.sernia@uniroma1.it
Department of Public health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Andrea Bongiovanni
Department of Public health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Andrea De Giorgi
Department of Public health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Arturo Cafolla
Department of Public health and Infectious Diseases and Center of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Simone De Sio
Research Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Giuseppe La Torre
Department of Public health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

Background. lonizing Radiations (IR) are an important occupational risk factor for the potential damage that can cause to workers' health and for their presence in numerous professional settings. Health care workers (HCW) can be exposed to IR from various sources, in particular from x-rays using radiological equipment, and represent the largest group of workers occupationally at risk, despite increased regulation and protection which caused exposure to low dose radiations. The thyroid gland is one of the most sensitive organs to damage and an important target of IR, leading to functional and organic diseases. The aim of this study is to assess the variations in thyroid hormones, in a population of HCW exposed to low-dose IR. Methods. 121 individuals of the Teaching Hospital Policlinico Umberto I in Rome exposed to low-dose of IR (78 HCW, 17 Residents and 26 Radiology Technicians Students) were observed assessing serum levels of different thyroid function parameters as free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine and thyroid stimulating hormone at T1, 12 and Deltal. Age, gender, history of thyroid diseases, BMI and smoke were analyzed as possible influencing factors using linear and multiple logistic regression analysis.
Results. Analyzing TSH, fT3 and fI4 serum levels, in two different measurement (T1 and 12) and considering Delta between them, adjusting for different confounding factors, data showed no variation of TSH levels related to occupational exposure, a decrease of fT3 hormone values in HCW and residents, and an increase of fT4 in HCW.
Discussion. The analysis of our results revealed that hospital occupation has an impact on thyroid hormones variations, with an increase of f14 and a decrease of f13 and no variations of TSH.
These results are in conflict with previous studies evidences, in which both free hormones decreased with a concomitant increase of TSH.
Conclusion. Exposure to low dose IR influences levels of free thyroid hormones, with no variation in TSH, which could result in a functional or organic disease. For this reason it is recommended continuous surveillance through a periodic check of all the thyroid hormones for an overall view of each HCW. However, further studies are necessary to confirm hormones trend and assess any related thyroid diseases.​

Altmetrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
1) Alawneh K, Alshehabat M, Al-Ewaidat H, Raffee L, Forihat D, Khader Y. Asymptomatic Effect of Occupational Radiation Exposure on Thyroid Gland Hormones and Thyroid Gland Ultrasonographic Abnormalities. J Clin Med. 2018 Apr 9; 7(4): 72. 2) Antonelli A, Silvano G, Bianchi F, Gambuzza C, Tana L, Salvioni G, Baldi V, Gasperini L, Baschieri L. Risk of thyroid nodules in subjects occupationally exposed to radiation: a cross sectional study. Occup Environ Med. 1995 Aug; 52(8): 500-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.52.8.500
3) Caciari T, Casale T, Capozzella A, De Sio S, Rosati MV, Suppi A, Marrocco M, Cardella C, Andrè JC, Cancanelli G, Samperi I, Tomei F, Tomei G, Sancini A. Thyroid hormones in male workers exposed to urban stressors. Ann Ig. 2014 Mar-Аpr;26(2): 167-75.
4) CDC, Radiation and your health. Document available online at site: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/ionizing_radiation.html Last access September 27th 2021.
5) Chaker L, Bianco AC, Jonklaas J, Peeters RP. Hypothyroidism. Lancet. 2017 Sep 23; 390(10101): 1550-1562. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30703-1
6) Cioffi DL, Fontana L, Leso V, Dolce P, Vitale R, Vetrani I, Galdi A, lavicoli I. Low dose ionizing radiation exposure and risk of thyroid functional alterations in healthcare workers. Eur J Radiol. 2020 Nov; 132: 109279. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2020.109279
7) De Leo S, Lee SY, Braverman LE. Hyperthyroidism. Lancet. 2016 Aug 27; 388(10047): 906-918. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00278-6
8) De Sio S, Mandolesi D, Colasanti V, Goglia C, Cuzzola S, Di Traglia M, Greco E. lonizing radiation and stress: the analysis of the medical ray technician. Clin Ter. 2016 Sep-Oct; 167(5):e 137-e141.
9) Epicentro ISS, Thyroids diseases. Document available online at site: https://www.epicentro.iss.it/tiroide/ Last access September 27th 2021.
10) Luna-Sánchez S, Del Campo MT, Morán JV, Fernández IM, Checa FJS, de la Hoz RE. Thyroid Function in Health Care Workers Exposed to lonizing Radiation. Health Phys. 2019 Oct; 117(4): 403-407. 11) Völzke H, Werner A, Wallaschofski H, Friedrich N, Robinson DM, Kindler S, Kraft M, John U, Hoffmann W. Occupational exposure to ionizing radiation is associated with autoimmune thyroid disease. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Aug; 90(8): 4587-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/HP.0000000000001071
12) Wong YS, Cheng YY, Cheng TJ, Huang CC, Yeh JJ, Guo HR. The Relationship Between Occupational Exposure to Low-dose lonizing Radiation and Changes in Thyroid Hormones in Hospital Workers. Epidemiology. 2019 Jul;30 Suppl 1:S32-S38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/EDE.0000000000001004

How to Cite



Thyroid parameters variations in healthcare workers and students exposed to low-dose ionizing radiations. (2022). Giornale Italiano Di Medicina Del Lavoro Ed Ergonomia, 44(3), 338-346. https://doi.org/10.4081/gimle.567
Copyright (c) 2022 The Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.