W. H. ADAMS: LATE MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES OF EXPOSURE TO RADIOACTIVE
ADENOMATOUS NODULES
AS FUNCTION OF RADIATION DOSE AND TIME
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YEARS POST-EXPOSURE
34
The time required to develop adenomatous nodulesofthe thyroid following radiation
exposure appears, in this graph, to be dose-related. However, the thyroid-absorbed
radiation dose was highly dependent on the age at exposure.
(children receiving preater doses than adults), another interpretation of Figure 5 is that the time for
development of adenomatous nodules following radiation exposure varies directly with age at
exposure.
Nonthyroidal Cancers
There are several points that are relevant for those who would apply an epidemiologic
analysis to cancer deaths among the exposed Marshailese. First, since the Marshall Islands medical
program has not maintained a year-round medical presence on the different atolls where the exposed
population may be found, causes of death are obtained from records and verbal accounts of health
aides and family membersliving on those atolls, and from records and death certificates at the
Marshallese hospitals. Autopsies are seldom performed. Therefore, available information on
cancer deaths may be either inaccurate or incomplete (or both). Second, in areas where health care
is limited there is often increased mortality from nonmalignant disease, and an Increase in cancer
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