14
Table 7
Mortality, 1954-1966, by Age as of 1954
Group

Age

<< 10

Rongelap '175 rads)

0.19"

Unexposed **

0/56

Auingnae (69 rads}

0:6

11-20

1-13

O;}

0/28

21-30

31-40

0/10

0.5

0/30

2/18

0-1

*Mortality/numberin group.

neck and face complicating diabetes, and a 68year-old woman (No. 894) died of pneumunia
complicating Asiatic influenza. A 91-year-old
male (No. 862) died presumably of cardiovascular

disease; he had been quite senile and bedridden
for the past few years.
During the past 12 years, 13 deaths have occurred in the exposed group. This represents 13.0
deaths per 1900 per annum (11.7 for the more
heavily exposed group and 18.3 for the smaller
Ailingnae group)-compared with 8.3 per 1000for
the Marshall Islands as a whole in 1960.
In Table 7 mortalities for the exposed Rongelap
and Ailingnae groups as well as the unexposed
comparison population are presented according to
decade of death.A x test for significance,* comparing groups of exposed and unexposed people,
showed that the mortality in the Ailingnae group
alone wassignificantly greater than in the control
group. The Rongelap exposed group combined
with the Ailingnae exposed also showed a significant difference compared with the unexposed.
These results should be interpreted with caution
since the numbers of people involved are too small
for a sensitive statistical test. None of the deaths in
the exposed group can be related directly to radiation exposure. The causes of death are similar to
those in the unexposed population. The slightly
greater mortality in the exposed Rongelap people
mayberelated in part, at least, to the larger percentage of older people originally in this group.
No cases. of leukemia have appeared in the exposed population. Twoearlier deaths from cancer
in exposed women and the recent development
of a malignant thyroid nodule, to be described
below, make it necessary to. keep in mind the
possibility of causal relauionship with radiation
CX POsure

"We oate vrateful to Mer

Kerth Thompson of Brookhaver

National Laboratory dor carmang gut (he statistical analyses

41-50

51-60

2.7

1,5

0/1

3/21

2°5

0/1

3/17

61-70

74-80.

> 80

a

2/3

1 |

2:7

0.1

14

3/3

-

-

**This group was not examined unul 1957.
Births

Twelve babies were born to exposed parents and
13 to unexposed pavents during the period between March 1964 and March 1966. The birth
rate per year is calculated from the number of
births per womenof childbearing age (15 to 45).
There were 30 such women in the exposed group
(including 3 unexposed women whose spouses are
exposed males) and 32 in the unexposed group
(see Table 8). From these data, there appears to be
no difference in fertility between. the two groups.
All these babies appeared normal except for the
two listed below, who were both offspring of un-

exposed parents.

Congenital Anomalies.

Two abnormal babies

were noted during ihe 1965 survey. One was a hydrocephalic (No. 1061) and the other a mongoloid
(No. 1055).

Sex Ratio. Table 9 lists the births by sex in relation to the exposureof the parents. There appears
to be no radiation-induced sex ratio alteration.
Miscarriages and Stillbirths. A total of 5 miscarriages occurred overthe past 2-year period, al] in
unexposed women, one of whom (No. 959) had 3.

As had been noted earlier, the exposed women
had a somewhat greater incidence of miscarriges
and sullbirths over the first 4 years post exposure
(see Table 8). During 1954-58 the exposed women
had 12 miscarriages of 32 total pregnancies (40.6%
incidence), and the unexposed women had 8 mis-

carriages in 49 pregnancies (16.3% incidence) during the 4-year period 1956-60. A x’test for significance* showed that total miscarriages and suillbirths were significantly greater (at the 5% level)
in the exposed women compared with unexposed
during the first + years, but there was nosignifi-

cant difference after this period. Since 1958 the
exposed women have had 3 miscarriages in 45
pregnancies (10.4'.) and the unexposed women
10 miscarriages in 62 pregnancies (16.1).

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