MEASUREMENT OF SOME AGING CRITERIA
SUMMARY
In order to study possible premature aging
effects of radiation in the people of Rongelap in
the Marshall Islands, a series of measurable criteria generally associated with aging were recorded during the 1959 annual medical survey
(5 year post-exposure) on 42 people who had
been exposed to radiation and 84 unexposed
Marshallese. The criteria were chosen on the
basis of ease of assessment under field conditions considering time limitation and language
barricr. Some criteria were assessed on observation by scoring on a 0 through 4+ and per-
centage basis (senile skin changes, graying of
hair, baldness, arcus senilis, peripheral arteriosclerosis, retinal arteriosclerosis).
this approach mayprove helpful in assessing
aging in human beings and mayoffer a clue to
possible radiation-induced aging.
The author wishes to express his gratitude to Mr. William Scott for
his assistance in compiling the data; to Col. Austin Lowrey (MC)
USA of Walter Reed Army Hospital, Drs. B. S. Blumberg of National
Institutes of Health and W. H. Lewis of Memorial Hospital for their
assistance in taking measurements on the Rongelap people.
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