Abstract
Objectives: Heart Rate and Blood Pressure have been reported to be susceptible to the effects of air pollution. Effect of emissions from gas turbine power station among workers is relatively unexplored. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the effect of emissions from gas turbines on cardiovascular functions and C-reactive protein level in workers of power generating stations. Methodology: 440 individuals made up of 228 workers of gas-fired power plant stations and 212 non-power generating station workers volunteered for this study. A detailed questionnaire was carefully filled by volunteers and anthropometric data measured and recorded. Blood pressure, heart rate and C-reactive protein level (CRP) were measured using standard laboratory techniques in all subjects. Results were presented as Mean ± Standard Error of Mean (SEM) and appropriate analysis was done using Independent student’s t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). P-value Results: Result showed increased systolic blood pressure (SBP), 142.45 ± 8.87 mmHg of test subjects compared to that of the control (P 0.05) which was 121.32 ± 2.25 mmHg. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) of the test and control groups. The Pulse Rate (PR) increased significantly in the test group (89.00 ± 0.02 bpm) when compared to that of the control group (74.34 ± 1.23 bpm). There was also an elevated plasma level of CRP, 6.69 ± 0.03 mg/L in the test group compared to the control (P Conclusion: Exposure to gas emission from natural gas-fired power plants on workers of power generating stations increased SBP, PR and C-reactive Protein level.
Highlights
Air pollution has been reported by many researchers to be strongly associated with morbidity and mortality due to cardio-respiratory disease [1] [2]
Blood Pressure This study showed that emission from gas turbine Power Plants might affect cardiovascular system parameters such as Systolic Blood pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Pulse Pressure (PP) and Heart rate (HR) in a group of healthy, non-smoking adults with a similar degree of education and socio-economic status working in gas turbine power generating stations
DBP, as shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4 was not statistically significantly different in the control and experimental groups. This was in agreement with the work of [12] who reported that Brachial artery vasoconstriction was observed after exposure to air pollutants leading to an increase in blood pressure
Summary
Air pollution has been reported by many researchers to be strongly associated with morbidity and mortality due to cardio-respiratory disease [1] [2]. In terms of cardiovascular diseases, studies have focused on potential effects of pollutants on inflammatory blood markers such as C-reactive Protein and Autonomic Nervous System [9] [10]. Even though there is a clear evidence of the association between air pollution and cardiovascular diseases, many studies have used populations such as the elderly, children and high-level pollutant-exposed individuals; this study used healthy workers of power generating stations using natural gas-fired power plants which have been assumed to produce fewer emissions with no negative health implications. This study was aimed at assessing the effect of exposure to emissions from gas turbine power plants on cardiovascular system parameters and C-reactive Protein of workers of power generating stations
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