Abstract
Personal air formaldehyde (air-FA) was measured as risk factor of airways inflammation and oxidative stress (SO) induction. Overall, 154 police officers were enrolled from two differently urbanised Italian cities, Turin and Pavia. Urinary F2t-isoprostane (15-F2t-IsoP), a prostaglandin-like compound, was quantified as a biomarker of general OS in vivo and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) was measured for monitoring local inflammatory processes. Urinary cotinine was quantified as a biomarker of tobacco smoking exposure. Traffic police officers living in Turin showed an increased level of log air-FA (p < 0.001), equal to +53.6% (p < 0.001). Log air-(FA) mean values were 3.38 (C.I. 95% 3.33–3.43) and 2.84 (C.I. 95% 2.77–2.92) in Turin and Pavia, respectively. Log (air-FA) was higher in “outdoor workers” (3.18, C.I. 95% 3.13–3.24, p = 0.035) compared to “indoor workers”, showing an increase of +9.3%, even controlling for sex and city. The analyses on 15-F2t-IsoP and FeNO, both adjusted for log air-FA, highlighted that OS and inflammation were higher (+66.8%, p < 0.001 and +75%, p < 0.001, respectively) in Turin traffic police officers compared to those from Pavia. Our findings suggest that even low exposures to traffic-related emissions and urbanisation may influence both general oxidative stress levels and local inflammation.
Highlights
Due to their toxicological and/or carcinogenic properties, some volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aromatic hydrocarbons and carbonyls have increasingly gained attention in the international scientific community dealing with public health issues [1,2,3]
More police officers were sampled in Turin (71%) than in Pavia (29%), no differences were observed in the distribution of age, BMI, gender and job duties between the two cities
Our results suggest that even low doses and relatively small differences among environmental air-FA exposures may contribute to Oxidative Stress (OS) induction and airways inflammation
Summary
Due to their toxicological and/or carcinogenic properties, some volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aromatic hydrocarbons and carbonyls have increasingly gained attention in the international scientific community dealing with public health issues [1,2,3]. Researchers, interested in non-communicable diseases and prevention, focused on the interaction between the aforementioned chemicals and human health, especially in preventive terms [4,5,6]. FA has been detected in several occupational settings involving wood-based materials, laminates, paints and urea-based resins [10] and is used as disinfectant and preservative in hospitals and in pathology units [11]. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [12] and the United
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