Abstract
Micronuclei (MN) are biomarkers of early biological effect often used for detecting DNA damage in human population exposed to genotoxic agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of MN in exfoliated buccal cells of children living in an industrialized (impacted) area compared with that found in children living in a control area without significant anthropogenic impacts. A total of 462 6–8-year-old children (206 in the impacted area, 256 in the control area) attending primary school were enrolled. A questionnaire was administered to the parents of the recruited children to obtain information about personal data, lifestyles, and food habits of their children. Atmospheric particulate fractions were collected near the involved schools to assess the level of environmental exposure of the children. The presence of MN was highlighted in 68.4% of children living in the impacted area with a mean MN frequency of 0.66‰ ± 0.61‰. MN positivity and frequency were significantly lower in the control area (37.1% and 0.27‰ ± 0.43‰, respectively). The frequency of MN was positively associated with quasi-ultrafine particulate matter (PM0.5), traffic near the home, and consuming barbecued food; while adherence to the Mediterranean diet and practicing sport were negatively associated.
Highlights
Molecular epidemiology is an innovative approach to early assessment of the health risks due to environmental exposure
The aim of this work was to evaluate the frequency of MN in the exfoliated buccal cells (EBC) of children living in an area with a high industrial impact compared with that found in children living in an area without significant anthropogenic impacts
Effects on Children for Supporting Public Health Policy) study [16]. It envisaged (a) recruitment of primary schoolchildren in two areas of Salento Peninsula; (b) questionnaire administration to parents to obtain information about lifestyle of their children; (c) sampling of EBC of the children; (d) assessment of genotoxic damage in the sampled cells by buccal micronucleus cytome (BMCyt) assay; (e) atmospheric monitoring near the schools involved in order to determine the concentrations of particulate matter (PM); and (f) data analysis to identify any association between DNA damage and environmental or individual factors
Summary
Molecular epidemiology is an innovative approach to early assessment of the health risks due to environmental exposure. It allows for the direct measurement of biological effects caused by the contact with toxic substances by means of biomarkers [1,2]. Micronuclei (MN) have been widely used in molecular epidemiologic studies [3,4,5,6,7,8] They are considered as biomarkers of early biological effect that are formed in the cells due to alterations of the chromosomal structure and oxidative stress attributable to various factors, among which is environmental exposure [9,10,11]. Public Health 2020, 17, 1208; doi:10.3390/ijerph17041208 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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