Functional health and vegetative balance of women of different age groups in radioactively contaminated and conditionally clean regions of Ukraine

Abstract

The functional health of particular age groups, especially children, should be the main bio-indicator of the impact of integrated environmental pressure on the human body and regional socio-ecological status. Functional health levels are specific markers of the state of the organism adaptation to the changing conditions of the external and internal environment and, moreover, they reflect the general functional and vegetative homeostasis of the human body for the stability of which the autonomic nervous system is responsible for in the body. The purpose of the study was to investigate and compare functional health and autonomic balance in women of different age groups living in relatively clean and radiologically contaminated regions of Ukraine. The determination of vegetative status and orientation of vegetative activity in the body of men has been performed using functional vegetative diagnostics (FVD) according to the method of V. Makats. A total of 1154 people of all ages were examined who underwent sanatorium and health improvement in the sanatoriums of Ukraine. The women were divided into 2 main observation groups. The first group resided in radiation-contaminated (RC) regions (Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia region), where they were classified according to the criteria of TRID-ELEUMH (thyroid irradiation dose exceeding the levels established by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine) and EEDHR (the effective equivalent dose of human radiation). The second group resided in relatively radiologically pure regions (Lviv region). In the method of functional-ecological examination (FEE) offered by us, the number of people (in %) in whom indicators of functional health are in states of functional depression (PA - parasympathetic activity advantage), vegetative equilibrium (VE) and number cases of the benefits of functional excitement (SA - the advantage of sympathetic activity) is the basis of systematic analysis. According to the criteria we have developed, human functional health is in the area of conditional norms, when 70% of people are in the zone of functional equilibrium (FE), and 15% are in the areas of parasympathetic and sympathetic activity.

The analysis of the obtained data revealed that less than 70% of people in the conditionally clean (CC) regions and radioactively contaminated (RC) regions of Ukraine in all age groups of surveillance enter the functional equilibrium zone. The lowest index is in the group of mature women (MW), where it is by 31.3% less than the developed standard, and the highest  one is in the group of preschool children (PC), where it is almost the same as the norm. While analyzing the results obtained from women living in radioactively contaminated regions of Ukraine, it has been found that in all age groups the number of people entering the functional equilibrium zone is much lower compared to women living in the CC regions with the worst score in the women group living RC regions. It has also been found that in all age groups the parasympathetic activity area contains on average 2 times more people compared to the established norm of 15%. This indicator is the worst in the group of women where it is 3.5 times higher. On the whole, the obtained data testify to an environmental disaster in Ukraine and coincide with state radiological monitoring data. However, at the same time we can state that radioactive contamination is no longer a marker of environmental pressure on the human body.

In the study of system and age dependence in the female group of preschool age (PC) 3-6 years  old living in the CC and RC regions, it was found that the activity indicators of the organism’s functional systems (FS) almost coincided with similar indicators of the age-ralated functional and vegetative norms.

In the study of system-age dependence in the female group of juvenile school age living in the СС regions it has been found that the activity indicators of the functional systems (FS) of the organism coincided with the similar indicators of the age functional vegetative norm only in the FS of the heart (HT), the state of the lymphatic system (LS), large intestine (LI) and spleen (S) and pancreas (P). The systemic age dependence is slightly different from the norm in other FS, except for liver FS (LR) and gallbladder (GB) where they indicate a significant decrease in the functional activity of these systems.

In the study of systemic age dependence in the female group of juvenile school age living in radiologically contaminated regions, it has been found that the activity indicators of organism’s functional systems (FS) are higher than the similar indicators of age functional and vegetative norms.

In the study of systemic-age dependence in the female group of mature age (MA) 21-50 years old living in radioactively contaminated regions, significant deviations from the normative indicators of the activity towards the increase of the activity in the FS of the spleen, pancreas and bladder (BL) have been revealed as well as significant inhibition of functional activity in the lung FS (LU), kidney (KI), and gall bladder (GB).

Age dispersion of vegetative levels of functional health of women of different age groups of radioactively contaminated and conditionally pure regions of Ukraine indicates a stable high level of its acceptable parasympathetic activity (PA) and unsatisfactory low level of functional equilibrium (FE). Their unsatisfactory levels, found in conditionally radiation-free regions of Ukraine, indicate an additional set of environmental pressures or the cumulative effect of its accumulation.