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Chromosome aberration and environmental physical activity: Down syndrome and solar and cosmic ray activity, Israel, 1990–2000

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Abstract

The possibility that environmental effects are associated with chromosome aberrations and various congenital pathologies has been discussed previously. Recent advances in the collection and computerization of data make studying these potential associations more feasible. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible link between the number of Down syndrome (DS) cases detected prenatally or at birth yearly in Israel over a 10-year period compared with the levels of solar and cosmic ray activity 1 year before the detection or birth of each affected child. Information about 1,108,449 births was collected for the years 1990–2000, excluding 1991, when data were unavailable. A total of 1,310 cases of DS were detected prenatally or at birth—138 in the non-Jewish community and 1,172 in the Jewish population. Solar activity indices—sunspot number and solar radio flux 2,800 MHz at 10.7 cm wavelength for 1989–1999—were compared with the number of DS cases detected. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) and their probabilities (P) were established for the percentage of DS cases in the whole population. There was a significant inverse correlation between the indices of solar activity and the number of cases of DS detected—r=−0.78, P=0.008 for sunspot number and r=−0.76, P=0.01 for solar flux. The possibility that cosmophysical factors inversely related to solar activity play a role in the pathogenesis of chromosome aberrations should be considered. We have confirmed a strong trend towards an association between the cosmic ray activity level and the incidence of DS.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Gabrielle J. Halpern for her editorial assistance and Dr Avi Orr-Urtreger for his helpful contribution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiology, Rabin Medical Centre, Beilinson Campus, Petah Tikva, Israel

    Eliahu G. Stoupel

  2. Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Eliahu G. Stoupel, Moshe D. Fejgin, Gad Barkai, Orit Reish, Dorit Lev, Boleslaw Goldman & Mordechai Shohat

  3. Department of Community Genetics, Ministry of Health, Beilinson Campus, Petah Tikva, Israel

    Helena Frimer

  4. Department of Medical Genetics, Rabin Medical Centre, Beilinson Campus, Petah Tikva, Israel

    Bella Davidov & Mordechai Shohat

  5. Cytogenetic Laboratory, Herzliya Medical Centre, Institute of Medical Genetics, Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Zvi Appelman & Ziva Ben-Neriah

  6. Cytogenetic Laboratory, Herzliya Medical Centre, Institute of Medical Genetics, Bnai Zion Medical Centre, Haifa, Israel

    Hanna Dar

  7. Cytogenetic Laboratory, Herzliya Medical Centre, Institute of Medical Genetics, Meir Medical Centre, Kfar Saba, Israel

    Moshe D. Fejgin

  8. Cytogenetic Laboratory, Herzliya Medical Centre, Institute of Medical Genetics, Rambam Medical Centre, Haifa, Israel

    Ruth Gershoni-Baruch

  9. Cytogenetic Laboratory, Herzliya Medical Centre, Institute of Medical Genetics, Soroka Medical Centre, Beersheba, Israel

    Esther Manor

  10. Cytogenetic Laboratory, Herzliya Medical Centre, Institute of Medical Genetics, Sheba Medical Centre, Tel Hashomer, Israel

    Gad Barkai & Boleslaw Goldman

  11. Cytogenetic Laboratory, Herzliya Medical Centre, Institute of Medical Genetics, Ha’emek Hospital, Afula, Israel, Israel

    Stavit Shalev

  12. Cytogenetic Laboratory, Herzliya Medical Centre, Institute of Medical Genetics, Kaplan Medical Centre, Rehovot, Israel

    Zully Gelman-Kohan

  13. Cytogenetic Laboratory, Herzliya Medical Centre, Institute of Medical Genetics, Assaf Harofeh Medical Centre, Israel

    Orit Reish

  14. Cytogenetic Laboratory, Herzliya Medical Centre, Institute of Medical Genetics, Wolfson Medical Centre, Holon, Israel

    Dorit Lev

Authors
  1. Eliahu G. Stoupel
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  2. Helena Frimer
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  3. Zvi Appelman
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  4. Ziva Ben-Neriah
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  5. Hanna Dar
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  6. Moshe D. Fejgin
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  7. Ruth Gershoni-Baruch
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  8. Esther Manor
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  9. Gad Barkai
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  10. Stavit Shalev
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  11. Zully Gelman-Kohan
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  12. Orit Reish
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  13. Dorit Lev
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  14. Bella Davidov
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  15. Boleslaw Goldman
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  16. Mordechai Shohat
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eliahu G. Stoupel.

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Stoupel, E.G., Frimer, H., Appelman, Z. et al. Chromosome aberration and environmental physical activity: Down syndrome and solar and cosmic ray activity, Israel, 1990–2000. Int J Biometeorol 50, 1–5 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-005-0274-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-005-0274-2

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