GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE PROCESSES OF REGULATION OF THE FUNCTIONING OF THE FOLATE CYCLE AND THE PITUITARY-THYROID AXIS IN CHILDREN LIVING NEAR THE CHERNOBYL EXCLUSION ZONE

The long-term humanitarian consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (ChNPP) are a serious problem for the medical community.The emergence of previously unknown forms of pathological conditions among the child population forces us to reconsider the methodology of etiopathogenetic studies.This applies, in particular, to the condition of hyperhomocysteinemia, which was first registered in 2015 in a large number of children living near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (ChEZ) [1, p. 29].The wide range of reference values of the studied biochemical parameters does not allow for an objective assessment of the metabolic status of children living in the territory affected by the Chernobyl accident.In these children, with a pronounced increase in the content of homocysteine (Hcy) in the blood, the values of most indicators associated with the metabolism of this amino acid did not go beyond the reference range.In this regard, when assessing the metabolic processes in the body of children under conditions of constant radiation exposure due to the Chernobyl accident, it is advisable to use the results of an analysis of correlations of the determined indicators, taking into account the state of the genetic system that controls H cy methylation and the formation of internal methionine.At the same time, attention should be paid to gender characteristics, since hyperhomocysteinemia is more common among boys than among girls [2, p. 33].Studying the correlations between H cy , pituitary thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine (T 4 ), triiodothyronine (T 3 ) will provide objective information about the regulation of the functioning of the thyroid gland