Chernobyl Exposure in Children and Teens Increases Thyroid Disease Risk

Could there be a connection between mine and my husband’s hypothyroidism. We were stationed in W. Germany during the year of the accident at Chernobly.Just a thought. Does anyone out there know if being that far away could have had affected our thyroid’s????????

I believe radiation exposure caused my hypothyroidism. I was out in the field for three days after. I have no other risk factor. Young, no family history.

Hi, I think the possibility definitely exists that your thyroids experienced an uptake of the radiation, thus rendering them ineffective. I had mine removed due to cancer in 2002- my dad was the only one who didn’t have thyroid issues–he travelled a great deal-go figure? Mom, brother, myself-cancer; my sister has hypothroidism. Depending on your ages, it could also be that any beef you ingested in years passed could have played a part. It is a known fact that farmers (starting in the late 40’s) used antithyroid suppliments to fatten their cattle, not knowing the outcome of consumers ingesting the meat later. My parents are in their 80’s and are both taking suppliments due to the high content of fluoride in the water that they drank while living near a well in the country. Hope this helps..

Hello to all concerned,

I am of the opion (Í was a scientist: Molecular Geneticist, Untill I was made 100% ‘work-disabled’ in 2002, due to Hashi’s Hypo: so now on state-benefit..)..

…That it can not be ONE thing (reason/cause..), that could make someone an Auto-Immuun-patient (such as Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism)..

..The combination of
1) ‘Genetic Make-up’ , and
2) circumstances/medical historical events of the patient..

..combined,..could probably cause the Auto-Immune-Disease, ..we are talking about

I have always (early-childhood) reacted EXTREME to outer-influences:
a) Others would get a cold,..I would get a FEVER (over-reacting immune-systeme)
b) I got a lot of ’strange/extreme’ viral infections (presumably attacking my immune-systeme):..Pfeiffer-like diseases etc.
c) I was exposed to MORE than average exposure of radiation during the Chernobyl-disaster…
I can explain the last in more detail:

I had in fact been cycling through the heavy rain (coinciding with the Chernobyl-disaster) for quite some hours,…The next day, I got on the ‘radiation-counter’ at my work ( I used to be a scientist at the Free University of Amsterdam, working a lot with radio-active materials for the purpose of my research..)..
and my CLEAN/basic counts (radiotions per minute, rpm) were OFF the scale..

All these things together, I believe,..have made it possible, for my body to develop an Auto-Immune-Disease, such as Hashimoto’s..

Sincerely,
I. Verwoert

I was also living in Germany in April 1986 when the Chernobyl accident occured. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer ten years later. There is no history of any kind of thyroid disorder or thyroid cancer in my family.

Take a look at this VA Appeal (1111873). from March of this year. The veteran appears to have a very similar case to yours (and mine) also previously denied. This time, the veteran won the case, so now we have precedent.
Best Success!

hey im a 13 year old kid and i think i might have a thyroid problem because my mom told me that some people have problems running due to there thyroid and i have trouble breathing when running, but mostly at school in gym.
i would like to know if i have a proplem

I have read articles on here about the effects of the Chernobyl incident on children who were under two living in Belarus at the time of the incident, I was under two when the Chernobyl incident occurred and I am now wondering if there is a connection with the incident and my Hypothyroidism, I live in London so I am a good distance away, But I know that the fallout reached the UK and affected livestock at the time so couldn’t it have an affect on humans in the UK who were under two at the time of the incident?

And why isn’t there a study confirming this?

I was posted in W. Germany with the US Army. I have since been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. This condition has been steadily deteriorating. I have been trying to convince the VA that this is a situation that deserves looking into.
The wind/Fallout patterns show that we were exposed to Iodine 131 during it’s eight day half life. The VA keeps denying my claim. I would suggest that an information clearing house would be a good start toward convincing the VA. Also publicising a call to all veterans and their families to report thyroid conditions to the VA and the clearing house.

Anna, I too, have been trying to contact agencies who might give me answers to questions regarding Military, family dependents, and civil service/DoD employees. So far I have found nothing other than inforation on the event itself. I’m wondering what to do next. Please contact me if you have found any information.DoDDS Teacher in Germany 1985 to 1999, BK, and Neubruecke, Best Wishes, Barbara

I was just diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, and I was living in Duesseldorf West Germany and was 6 weeks pregnant in April 1986. I wasn’t allowed to drink milk, unless it was the type that came vacumm packed in box, eat fresh vegetables or go to parks.

Shortly after the birth of my daughter in 11/86, I began losing weight, having anxiety, and this terrible feeling of someone pressing on my adam’s apple. That’s where it all began 23 years ago … and now I have finally been diagnosed. The last 8 years, I knew there was something wrong and my TSH was all over the place.

Anyway my daughter shows some sign of thyroid issues at 22. We’ve been back in US since she was 2. Do you think the radiation could have affected her in utero. I am getting her to the fine Dutch Physian, who had the brains and then the guts to treat me and test for antibodies. I immediately thought of this incident and wondered if there was any info on the effects of the radiation on the children of pregnant women at the time. I’d be interested to hear. Good luck to all!

I was in Augsburg, Germany during the Chernobyl incident and now have several thyroid nodules….2 over 3 cm. No one in my family has ever had thyroid nodules. Is there really a link?

I was stationed in Frankfurt from 1984-1987 with the Army. We were regularly in the field in surrounding areas. Having had problems since 1996, I was finally diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2006. Other problems are yet unexplained, but all major diseases have been ruled out. My civilian endocrinologist is actually the one who raised the question of Chernobyl. My VA doc claims she hasn’t heard of any military people with problems from Chernobyl. Coincidence?

At the time of Chernobyl I was 8 months pregnant. Last year, at the age of 24, my daughter was diagnosed with hypo-thyroidism. Co-incidence???

My family and I were stationed in West Germany from 1985 – 2001. I assisted with radiation detection following the Chernobyl explosion. In 2000 I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and my wife and daughter with hypo. None of us have a family history of thyroid problems.

I grew up in Germany(near Frankfurt) and was 15 at the time of the Chernobyl disaster. I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism about 5 years ago and my endocrinologist estimated that I had it for at least five years already.I have a goiter and high thyroid antibodies. Very much interested to find out if there is a correlation between my thyroid disease and Chernobyl.

I was stationed in Bavaria, Germany from June of 1987 to November of 1989. I was diagnosed with Graves disease and became Hyper-thy. Then got radiated at the hosp. am now hypo for life. After reading these comments my suspicions have been confirmed.

I lived in Heilbronn, Germany, during the Chernobyl event in 1986 as my dad was stationed there working with Pershing missiles with the Army (MORE radiation there..). I’ve been experiencing thyroid symptoms for some time but my tests come back normal or borderline.. I am now fighting iritis, which is basically my body attacking my eye, an obvious autoimmune thing, and I’ve had severe fatigue for almost a full year along with a huge range of weird symptoms. My doctors are not helping me much.

I think something needs to be done about the simple POSSIBILITY that any of our symptoms and issues are connected to the fact that we were there at the time!

Especially if you are “borderline”, push for your doctors to check you for antithyroid antibodies. I spent years being told that my “Thyroid was Normal” just because I did not fall outside the test range for TSH. In fact, my antibody level was 144 – not a typo! (normal is 0-40) though my other thyroid tests were “normal”

Labtests.org is one of several places that have mentioned the following, “It may occur with increased frequency in those with a family history of thyroid diseases or with other autoimmune diseases, especially type 1 diabetes or adrenal insufficiency.” The toimmune disorder in your eye would be a red flag in my book.

I also have some connection with the Pershings, e.g. eliminations at Longhorn AAP TX. The perchlorate in the rocket fuel for those is distinctly UNFRIENDLY to the thyroid and might be a factor.

I hope this helps.

Thanks! I have an appointment with a rheumatologist tomorrow (my uncle has ankylosing spondylitis and iritis occurs in about 40% of people with AS) and I will talk with them about the antithyroid test. I’ve also developed body aches (AS is a form of arthritis) and I’ve had vertigo since 2009 which I just found out could be an autoimmune thing. It hurts to sit up or stand, and yet I get dizzy if I lie down. It’s a daily battle.

I did not know about the Pershing fuel. I am a member of Pershing Missile Alumni on Facebook and Yahoo Groups, and the vets joke about the radiation from the missiles. I lived in Lawton/Ft.Sill, OK, for the majority of my life where tests were done frequently for all artillery (the daily rattling of our homes was a constant reminder), and we also visited White Sands for a bit while my dad was called out for some sort of special job.

Tomorrow is basically my last try at figuring out what’s going on. I am seriously ready to give up. So tired of no one taking me seriously and not understanding that I suffer every day. I will settle for just a pain reliever that works if that’s all I can get.

Thanks again!

Glad to see more posts, as it helps to validate all our concerns. If you haven’t seen this report, it is very informative, lots of science to wade through, but worth the time.
http://www.chernobylcongress.org/fileadmin/user_upload/pdfs/chernob_report_2011_en_web.pdf

I lived in Germany with my family from 1987 to 1997. Then I joined the military and was stationed back in Germany from 1998 to 2001. We lived in Frankfurt in 1987 I am 30yrs old and have just been diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. My family does not have a history of Cancer or Thyroid problems. Is there any other information or possible studies that have been done on Chernobyl and military families stationed overseas during this time? I have read that usually there has been childhood exposure to radiation as I have never had any type of CT scans, X-rays and such I am curious if there is a real link to Chernobyl.

This is post #3 here for me.. just following up. ^.^

I just found out that I have a small thyroid nodule but we are only following up on it in a year with another ultrasound. My blood tests are “normal” still but I’m still having symptoms.. and I still have autoimmune issues going on (my last ANA titer was 1:640 and I am HLA-B27 positive).

I’ve given up probably 3 times since my last post up there.. lol.. it gets annoying at times, but I just have to keep at it until I get answers. My vertigo was initially BPPV but then was tied to the arthritis in my neck, and I’ve been doing physical therapy. It has pretty much resolved! But the joint and muscle pain is still there. I also have bad nasal congestion and PMDD for which we are considering surgery. Yay. (note the sarcasm)

Wishing the best to everyone still fighting!