Erythrocyte sedimentation rate in adult health study participants

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was examined in 9,030 adults participating in physical examinations from 1979 through 1981. The maximum ESR was below 50 mm/hr in all subgroups according to age at the time of bombing and T65 dose. Mean ESR was 7 - 9 mm higher in females than in males. It increased with aging in both males and females. ESR tended to increase for women exposed to high doses. However, there was no association between ESR and exposure doses. These findings were also observed in 7,135 survivors excluding 1,895 with a history of infection, anemia, diffuse collagen disease, or malignancies. ESR was slightly higher in Hiroshima A-bomb survivors than in Nagasaki survivors, regardless of sex. Variables significantly affecting ESR, which were obtained by multivariate regression analysis, were as follows: sex, city, age at the time of bombing, dose, WBC count, α1 globulin, α2 globulin, β globulin, and γ globulin. (Namekawa, K.)