Immune parameters in female workers exposed to urban pollutants.
Urban outside workers, such as traffic police, are daily exposed to air pollutants and psychosocial stressors: for these workers, the working environment corresponds to the living environment of the general population. Studies in the literature have shown that immune parameters could be affected by chronic exposure to various chemical pollutants. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether occupational exposure to urban pollutants can cause alterations in NK, IL-2, IFN-gamma and C3 plasma levels in female traffic police compared to a control group. After excluding subjects with the principal confounding factors, 86 female traffic police and 87 controls were matched by age, years of police work and habitual alcohol consumption. The distribution of NK values in female traffic police and controls was significantly different (p=0.000); NK values above the upper limit of the normal laboratory range were observed in 23 female traffic police and in 2 controls (p=0.000). IL-2 mean levels were higher in traffic police compared to controls, but the difference was not significant. The mean and the distribution of IFN-gamma values in female traffic police and controls were not different. C3 mean levels were higher in female traffic police versus controls, but the difference was not significant. Considering that the subjects with the principal confounding factors were excluded from the study and that female traffic police and controls were matched by the above-mentioned variables, our results suggest that chronic occupational exposure to low doses of chemical stressors, which may interact with and add to psychosocial ones, can affect both innate and adaptative immunity.
Ciarrocca
Manuela
M
University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Occupational Medicine, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Tomei
Francesco
F
Bernardini
Andrea
A
Capozzella
Assuntina
A
Fiore
Pina
P
Amicarelli
Vittoria
V
Sancini
Angela
A
Perugi
Federica
F
Firullo
Erica
E
Rosati
Maria Valeria
MV
Pimpinella
Benedetta
B
Monti
Carlo
C
Tomei
Gianfranco
G
D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D003176:Complement C3 / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000187:drug effects*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000097:blood; D007558:Italy; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D016495:Police; D014507:Urbanization
D000393:Air Pollutants; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D003176:Complement C3; D007376:Interleukin-2; D007371:Interferon-gamma