20
potentially available total of 41 children from the
1959 survey, 29 were re-examined in 1963 (Table

10). In the group of 60 children examined in 1959,

there were 12 who because of their ages could not

have been exposed either directly or : utero to the
fallout radiation; two of these 12 were re-exam-

ined in 1963. More than one-fourth of the ¢» -osed

pediatric sample on Utirik was lost to follow-up
between the two examinations.

The fluctuations between examinations in the
numbers of control children and of offspring of exposed parents are shown in Tables 11 and 12. The

29 children added to the control group were randomly selected from the Ebeye school population
to provide an additional group comparablein ages
to those Rongelap children who were exposed
during infancy and early childhood vears to the
fallout radiation. Unfortunately, a study of the
biographical information on these new subjects
indicated the existence of the same uncertainties
regarding actual chronological ages that had been
encountered before. Verification or correction of
the birth date on eachof the children will be required before the data can be utilized for comparative purposes.
Children Examined 1964.
During the 1964
survey, 22 exposed children, 41 children of exposed parents, and 101 control children were ex-

amined. The decrease in the numberof exposed

children examined in the Rongelap series from
1958 through 1964 results from temporary movement of subjects to other atolls and to graduation
of children from the pediatric to the adult study.
The increase in number ofchildren of exposed
parents examined results from new births.
Results of Physical Examinations. The incidence of abnormal physical findings in the exposed
and control groups of children is summarized in
Table 13. In general the health of the children

seen during both surveys was good. Respiratory
infections and skin infections were infrequent. The

nutritional status ofall children was adequate, the
growth patterns were consistent with those seen in

previous years, and the height increments for the
period were consistent with the previous group
trends.
Duringthe epidemic on these atolls, 24 children
in the study developed poliomyelitis. Residual

weakness of muscle groups was evident in 11 of

these children at the time of the 1963 examination
(Table 14). Seven children continued to show
residual paralysis of varying degree at the time of

Table 14

History of Poliomyelitis Among Children

of Study Population, Rongelap and Ebeve
Subjects with positive history but no residual involvement

at ume of examination":

Now. 102, 105, 113, 120, 126, 127, 930, 1012,
1025, 1031, 1040, 1504
Subjects with positive history and with residual! involvement at ume of examination:

Nos. 96, 98, 103, 106, 110, 870, 901, 903,
1030, 1037

*One subject, No. 84, who had a history of poliomyelius
was not examined.

the 1964 survey (Nos. 95, 96, 98, 106, 870, 901,
903). In several instances, the degree of involve-

ment appeared less than in the previous year.
The increase in palpable livers in exposed and
control groups during the 1964 examinationsis
thoughtto result from variation between pediatric
examiners. Liver enlargement exceeded 2 cm
below the right costal margin in only two children,

and in the remainderthe liver was palpable ac the
costal margin only. In all but one additionalcate-

gory in Table 13, variation was considered to be

within limits expected in sequential examinations

of any pediatric age population.
Thyroid Nedules. Of particular interest was

the development of thyroid nodules in threegiris
9 and [0 years after exposure; two were 13 and
one was 14 years of age at the time of detection.
These girls were in the higher dose group in which
there were 29 children (<< 18 years of age} exposed;
17 of the 29 were girls, with 6 girls in the 10 to 15-

year range. Of 75 unexposed comparison children,

37 were girls, and 2! of the girls were in the age
range of 10 to 15 years. No thyroid nodules were
noted in this group (only one diffuse thyroid enlargement has been detected in an unexposed
aduit). A small nodule was first detected in one
of the girls in 1963, and nodules in the other two
were first detected in March 1964. No lymph node
involvement was grossly evident. The individuals

were hospitalized and two had complete thyroidectomies and thethird a partial thyroidectomy .*
Grossly the glands had a ‘“‘bobblestone” appearance with multiple hard nodules and wereat first
“Captain C.A. Broaddus (MC} U.S.N. at the U.S. Naval
Hospital in Guam performed the surgery.

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