Abstract
Beedi rolling is one of the most common home-based occupations used to meet daily expenses. The process of making beedis is mainly done by women, especially in rural areas. Due to a lack of awareness regarding safety measures, beedi-rolling women are exposed to toxic components present in unburnt tobacco dust. This exposure leads to many health complications among women beedi-rollers. In this study, we investigated how unburnt tobacco dust disrupts thyroid gland homeostasis by altering levels of thyroid hormone and TSH. We included 421 beedi rolling women (BR) and 426 control subjects (NBR) who were not exposed occupationally to any chemical agents. Levels of thyroid hormones (T3, T4) were analysed using competitive ELISA, and TSH levels were analysed using sandwich ELISA. Serum nicotine metabolites were analysed using LC-MS. We observed a statistically significant increase in the levels of T3, T4, anabasine, nornicotine, and cotinine in BR compared to the NBR group. Additionally, significantly lower TSH levels were observed in the BR group. However, the Correlation between nicotine metabolites, and hormones did not show a significant difference in the BR group. We conclude that prolonged exposure to unburnt tobacco dust must have disrupted thyroid function by altering the thyroid hormone, and TSH levels.
Published Version
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