| Abstract: | The severity of stress was evaluated in 45 female residents of the town of Chapaevsk (3 groups, 14-15 females each, with different levels of exposure to dioxins) using 5 standard psychological questionnaires. The results of testing were correlated to plasma dioxin concentrations and levels of chromosome aberrations in peripheral blood lymphocytes of the same donors. The results indicate that the groups differed by the degree of stress, the highest level being observed in women occupationally exposed to dioxins. The severity of stress correlated with plasma dioxin concentrations (p < or = 0.001) and levels and spectra of chromosomal aberrations in peripheral blood cells (p < or = 0.05, p < or = 0.01 in different tests). Presumably, one of the causes of high level of chromosomal aberrations in these women is dioxin-induced decrease of the adaptation potential, resulting in increase of the genome sensitivity to genotoxic factors of other origin). |
