Thyroid diseases among atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki, (1)

Since October 1984, functional and morphological screening for thyroid diseases has been begun in 3,500 A-bomb survivors. This is an interim report on evaluable survivors, including those exposed at the age of less than 20 (group 1) and those 20 or more years of age (group 2). For 479 survivors, the volume of the thyroid gland was 11.7 +- 3.7 cm3 in group 1 and 11.5 +- 5.8 cm3 in group 2. For 482 survivors, serum levels of thyroxine were 7.0 +- 1.9 ng/dl in group 1 and 7.1 +- 1.9 ng/dl in group 2. The corresponding values for triiodothyronine and free thyroxine were 113.8 +- 26.9 ng/dl in group 1 and 102 +- 20.5 ng/dl in group 2, and 1.6 +- 0.4 ng/dl in both groups, respectively. (Namekawa, K.)