25
lar disease was prdswbly of lower incidence in the
Marshallese. Thergwere two low readings in the
exposed group, one in a 63-vear-old woman with
abdominal carcinosis and ascites of ovarian origin
and the other in an 81-vear-old man ( = +6) with
marked hypertensive and arteriosclerotic cardio-
forms of heart disease. One evident case of inactive
rheumatic heart disease occurred in a boy of 14
years | = 76) with typical signs of mitral valvular
involvement and moderate cardiac enlargement.
He was symptom-free and his electrocardiogram
was normal.
vascular disease.
4. Veins. There was nearly a total absence of
periphéral venous disease —- thrombophlebitis,
phlebothrombosis, varicose veins, or hemorrhoidsin both men and women. Only one individual
showed varicose veins in the lower legs, in minimal
degree.
5. Other Cardiac Conditions. No patients were
observed with luetic, metabolic, or nutritional
Table 17
Incidence of Individuals With X-Ray Evidence
of Osteoarthritis in Rongelap, by Age and Sex
(Only those rated as 24 or higher are included)
Age, yr
No. in
age group
Persons with 2+ osteoarthritis
Number
28
3
Total
9
16
8
5
0
0
0
2
1
5
4
106
12
Table 16 shows the major ophthalmological
findings. No major differences were found between the exposed and the unexposed groups except, as has been noted in the past, for a slightly
greater incidenceof pterygii, pingueculae, corneal
scars, and pigmentation in the exposed group. As
a whole both groups showed vision and accommodation levels above the average in the United
States. The absence of glaucoma wasalso notable.
The incidence of retinal arteriosclerosis, squints,
and congenital diseases was very low. No cases of
basal cell carcinoma of the eyelids or of retinitis
pigmentosa were seen.
,
The degree of changes in accommodation, vjs-
a
ual acuity, arcus senilis, and retinal arteriosclerosis
have been plotted against age. The plots show no
Males
0- 9
10-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
30-59
>60
OPHTHALMOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS
obvious differences between the exposed and unexposed populations. (See Figures 19 to 22 and
further discussion in the section on aging.)
Slit-lamp examinationsof the lens showed no
opacities in the exposed Marshallese resembling
those that had been noted in the irradiated Japa-
nese.
Females
0- 9
10-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
> 60
Total
23
17
16
12
3
6
11
0
0
1
0
0
4
8
88
13
ARTHRITIS SURVEY
1.
-
The incidence of osteoarthritis, as indicated by
the hand and wrist x-ray survey, is shown, by age
and sex, in Table 17. The small number of indi-
viduals in the susceptible age groups precludes an
accurate estimation of the prevalence; however, 1t
Males Plus Females
,
0- 9
51
0
20-29
30-39
40-49
* $0-59
>60
33
21
19
14
16
i
2
|
9
i2
3.0
9.5
3.3
64.3
75.0
194
25
12.9
10-19
40
Total
0
Osteoarthritis
oy,
0
does not appearto be grossly different from that
found in the United States white population
studied by Dr. Alice Waterhouse and cited by
Blumberg et al.° In accordance with general clintcal experience, there was no close correlation be-
tween x-ray findings and clinical symptomsof
arthritis, i.e., subjects with quite advanced osteo-
arthritis as determined by x-ray often had no complaints referable to their joints.