Introduction: Exposure to occupational polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is correlated with several adverse effects on human health, including bladder, lung, and skin cancer. The correlation between PAH exposure and oxidative stress and tumor markers needs to be further explored. Therefore, we conducted this study to examine the effect of acute exposure to PAHs on oxidative stress and tumor marker levels in occupational workers during the Hajj season in Makkah.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 105 workers during Hajj; 60 workers were employed in the open air for ≥eight hours/day, exposed them to high levels of considerable traffic and huge crowds, and 45 workers served as our control group who were unexposed and working in a rural area. Using high-performance liquid chromatography, we analyzed participants' urinary 1-hydroxypyrene to determine PAH levels. Oxidative stress markers malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were analyzed in serum using a spectrophotometer. The serum p53 and p21 proteins were analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We used IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) to calculate multivariate logistic regression analysis for oxidative stress and tumor markers such as age, working period, and smoking status risk factors. Additionally, we evaluated associations between oxidative stress and tumor markers.
Results: The mean levels of MDA, GST, and LDH were significantly elevated in exposed workers compared to the control group (p<.001). Also, p53 and p21 protein levels were significantly higher in the occupationally exposed group than in the unexposed control group (p<0.05). No significant correlation between age and increased levels of p53 and p21 was found.
Conclusions: In our study, PAH exposure is significantly correlated with higher levels of oxidative stress and tumor marker levels in occupational workers. The evaluation of oxidative stress and tumor marker indicators can efficiently identify workers at high risk of PAH exposure and may assist in preventing future health concerns. More biomarkers should be included in other longitudinal studies to address exposure related to different health risks among workers, especially cancer risk. More prospective studies are required to validate diagnostic utilities and efficiencies of different biomarker combinations.
Keywords: exposure; oxidative stress; p21; p53; polyaromatic hydrocarbons; tumor markers.
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