title: [Influence of cigarette smoking on the excretion of urinary benzene in filling-station attendants].
abstract: The influence of cigarette smoking on concentrations of urinary benzene, a sensitive and specific biomarker proposed for biological monitoring of exposure to very low doses of benzene, was investigated in 24 filling-station attendants and 31 workers non occupationally exposed to benzene. Environmental monitoring was performed by personal passive samplers "Radiello", and a spot urine sample was collected at the end of the work shift, from all subjects, for the determination of urinary benzene. Exposure to benzene resulted significantly higher in filling-station attendants (mean 23.3 +/- 17.0 microg/m3; range 4.5-66.3 microg/m3) than in controls (mean 4.6 +/- 2.6 microg/m3; range < 3-11.5 microg/m3), while concentrations of urinary benzene did not show any significant difference between the two groups. Considering all subjects as a single group, it was observed that urinary benzene concentrations were positively correlated with the number of cigarettes smoked during the sampling time (rho = 0.38; p = 0.047) and with airborne benzene levels (rho = 0.32; p = 0.019), and negatively correlated with the time elapsed between the last smoked cigarette and urine collecting (rho = -0.40; p = 0.045). Multiple regression analysis confirmed the influence of cigarette smoking on urinary benzene concentrations. In conclusion, our study showed the validity of urinary benzene as a biomarker for biological monitoring of exposure to very low doses of benzene, although cigarette smoking determined a prevalent etiological role at the low environmental benzene concentrations observed.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Medicina Pubblica, Sezione di Medicina del Lavoro "E.C. Vigliani", Università di Bari.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lovreglio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Basso
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antelmi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meliddo
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Drago
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carrieri
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Bartolucci
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barbieri
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Violante
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Soleo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001554:Benzene / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005742:Gasoline; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000652:urine*
chemical_list: D005742:Gasoline; D001554:Benzene