Radiation May Indirectly Impair Growth Resulting in Reduced Standing Height via Subclinical Inflammation in Atomic-Bomb Survivors Exposed at Young Ages
Table 5
Dose effect on inflammation (infl.) markers, inflammation effect on height (ht.), indirect dose effect on height via inflammation markers, direct dose effect on height, total dose effect on height, and mediation proportion (MP) by marker (standard error is the bootstrap standard error with 1,000 resamplings) for the subjects with age at exposure less than 25.
Effects
Inflammatory markers of all age ATB, 0–24 years ( = 3,327)
WBC (×102/mm3)
SA (mg/dL)
ESR (mm/hour)
1 globulin (%)
2 globulin (%)
Both sexes ( = 3,327)
Dose effect on infl.(a)
0.942 (0.384; 0.014)
0.999 (0.212; <0.001)
1.270 (0.225; <0.001)
0.052 (0.018; 0.003)
0.126 (0.034; <0.001)
Infl. effect on ht.(b)
−0.007 (0.006; 0.240)
−0.028 (0.010; 0.007)
−0.031 (0.011; 0.003)
0.001 (0.141; 0.992)
−0.199 (0.072; 0.006)
Indirect dose effect(c)
−0.006 (0.006; 0.318)
−0.028 (0.012; 0.021)
−0.039 (0.015; 0.009)
0.000 (0.008; 0.992)
−0.025 (0.012; 0.030)
Direct dose effect(d)
−0.697 (0.133; <0.001)
−0.672 (0.133; <0.001)
−0.661 (0.134; <0.001)
−0.702 (0.134; <0.001)
−0.676 (0.133; <0.001)
Total dose effect(e)
−0.703 (0.133; <0.001)
−0.701 (0.133; <0.001)
−0.701 (0.133; <0.001)
−0.702 (0.133; <0.001)
−0.701 (0.133; <0.001)
MP(f) (%) (95% CI)(g)
0.9% (−0.8, 2.6%)
4.0% (0.3, 7.7%)
5.6% (0.9, 10.2%)
0.0% (−2.2, 2.2%)
3.6% (0.0, 7.2%)
Males ( = 1,143)
Dose effect on infl.
0.735 (0.675; 0.276)
1.188 (0.333; <0.001)
1.564 (0.324; <0.001)
0.079 (0.027; 0.004)
0.128 (0.048; 0.007)
Infl. effect on ht.
−0.005 (0.009; 0.592)
−0.020 (0.020; 0.327)
−0.020 (0.023; 0.383)
−0.180 (0.263; 0.493)
−0.181 (0.128; 0.157)
Indirect dose effect
−0.004 (0.010; 0.727)
−0.024 (0.027; 0.375)
−0.031 (0.037; 0.403)
−0.014 (0.023; 0.530)
−0.023 (0.019; 0.237)
Direct dose effect
−0.655 (0.219; 0.003)
−0.634 (0.220; 0.004)
−0.625 (0.224; 0.005)
−0.644 (0.220; 0.003)
−0.636 (0.219; 0.004)
Total dose effect
−0.659 (0.219; 0.003)
−0.657 (0.219; 0.003)
−0.656 (0.219; 0.003)
−0.658 (0.219; 0.003)
−0.659 (0.219; 0.003)
MP (%) (95% CI)
0.6% (−2.4, 3.6%)
3.7% (−4.7, 12.1%)
4.7% (−6.8, 16.2%)
2.1% (−4.9, 9.1%)
3.5% (−2.6, 9.6%)
Females ( = 2,184)
Dose effect on infl.
1.035 (0.433; 0.017)
0.787 (0.275; 0.004)
1.002 (0.308; 0.001)
0.030 (0.023; 0.178)
0.116 (0.044; 0.009)
Infl. effect on ht.
−0.008 (0.008; 0.301)
−0.032 (0.012; 0.007)
−0.034 (0.011; 0.003)
0.106 (0.176; 0.548)
−0.208 (0.084; 0.013)
Indirect dose effect
−0.009 (0.010; 0.385)
−0.026 (0.013; 0.058)
−0.034 (0.016; 0.029)
0.003 (0.007; 0.649)
−0.024 (0.014; 0.077)
Direct dose effect
−0.724 (0.166; <0.001)
−0.703 (0.165; <0.001)
−0.696 (0.166; <0.001)
−0.736 (0.166; <0.001)
−0.705 (0.166; <0.001)
Total dose effect
−0.732 (0.166; <0.001)
−0.728 (0.166; <0.001)
−0.731 (0.166; <0.001)
−0.733 (0.166; <0.001)
−0.729 (0.166; <0.001)
MP (%) (95% CI)
1.2% (−1.5, 4.0%)
3.6% (−4.7, 12.1%)
4.7% (−0.1, 9.4%)
−0.4% (−1.5, 2.3%)
3.3% (−0.7, 7.3%)
Effect of radiation dose on inflammation marker (unit per Gy) with standard error (SE) and two-sided value in parenthesis; effect of inflammation marker on height (cm per unit) with SE and two-sided value; indirect dose effect on height (cm/Gy) = (Dose effect on infl.) × (Infl. effect on height) with SE and two-sided value; direct dose effect on height (cm/Gy) with SE and two-sided value; total dose effect on height (cm/Gy) = direct dose effect (cm/Gy) + indirect dose effect (cm/Gy), with SE and two-sided value; mediation proportion (MP) = (indirect dose effect)/(total dose effect) (%); approximate 95% confidence interval (CI) for the mediation proportion using the first order approximation for standard error, , where and are total and indirect dose effects on height with standard errors and , respectively.
