Cytogenetic disorders in the oral mucosa epitheliocytes of children and adolescents living in the areas with different degrees of environmental chemical pollution

UNLABELLED: The frequency of micronuclei (MN) in the oral mucosal epitheliocytes, the health status, the environment, and living, upbringing, and education conditions were studied in 5-6-year-old children and 15-16-year-old adolescents living in Saint Petersburg. OBJECTIVE: to identify cytogenetic disorders in the somatic cells of the buccal epithelium in the children and adolescents residing in the areas with different degrees of toxic ambient air and soil pollution. METHODS: hygienic, sociological, mathematical-and-statistical, and cytogenetic (micronucleus test) studies. The method for studying the frequency of micronuclei in the buccal epithelial cells was used for the first time in the population-based studies to evaluate the cytogenetic effect of different levels of chemical ambient air and soil pollution. The genetic disorders have been identified in the somatic cells as the increased count of micronuclei-containing epitheliocytes, which characterize the adverse effect of the high content of toxicants in the air ground layer and soil, as well as a higher sensitivity to unfavorable exogenous factors in 5-6-year-old children, girls in particular.