title: HEMATOLOGICAL INDICES IN AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIANS IN NNEWI, SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Occupational exposure to petroleum products is known to be associated with a number of health risks as well as adverse effects on haematological indices.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of exposure to petroleum products on haematological parameters in automobile mechanics in Nnewi, south-east Nigeria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty (50) automobile technicians and 50 healthy controls participated in the study. Full blood count was performed for each participant using the automated Sysmex haemocytometer (Model PCE 210) while data analysis was done using the SPSS (statistical package for social sciences) version 16 computer soft ware (Chicago, IL, Inc.). Results were expressed as frequencies, means and standard deviations; comparison of haematological parameters was made between subjects and controls and at different durations of exposure using the students' t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA), respectively. The level of statistical significance was p < 0.05 (at 95% CI). Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional review board and all participants gave informed consent.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There red blood cell count (RBC) and haematocrit were significantly lower while the platelet count was significantly higher in test subjects compared with controls (p values; 0.04, 0.03 and 0.01, respectively). Correspondingly, the mean cell volume (MCV) and mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) were significantly lower in test subjects compared with controls (p = 0.62 and 0.03, respectively). The red cell count, MCV and platelet count significantly decreased with increasing duration of work exposure (p = 0.001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Occupational exposure to petroleum products adversely affects blood counts, with a significant decrease in RBC, MCV and platelet count as duration of exposure increases.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ibeh
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aneke
authors.forename: Chide
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Okocha
authors.forename: Amobi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nkwazema
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001336:Automobiles; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004906:Erythrocyte Count; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices; D006400:Hematocrit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010578:Petroleum; D010976:Platelet Count; D013922:Thrombocytosis / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D010578:Petroleum