Benzene and lipid asset

Background: In relation to the medico-social and medico-legal aspects of urban pollution we studied the effects of benzene present in urban pollution on outdoor workers exposed to physical, chemical, and psychosocial stressors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the possible correlation between the levels of benzene and its urinary metabolites in the blood (Trans muconic acid and S-phenylmecapturic acid) and the parameters of the lipid structure: Total cholesterol, High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides and blood sugar. Materials and methods: From an initial group 1,500 we selected a group of 199 subjects. A blood sample was taken for each worker to assess blood benzene levels and urinalysis to determine the levels of trans, trans-muconic acid and S-phenyl mercapturic acid. We compared the mean and standard deviation of the following lipid parameters: Total Cholesterol, HDL, LDL, Triglycerides and glycemia with benzene and urinary metabolites; we excluded the workers with confounding factors and performed the Pearson’s correlation between lipid parameters and urinary metabolites in the total sample and also among age, seniority, sex and BMI; multiple linear regression was performed for the evaluation of the main confounding factors. Results: We did not find a statistically significant alteration between the values of the lipid structure between the two groups of workers and the parameters of benzene. Triglycerides and HDL are statistically significantly influenced by sex (p=0.001) and (p=0.00) and BMI (p=0.00) and (p=0.001) as well as total cholesterol is influenced in a statistically significant way from age (p=0.003) and blood glucose from BMI (p=0.002) A statistically significant difference was found among the averages of phenylmercapturic S acid values of traffic policeman and police drivers (p<0.05), where higher values were among drivers. Conclusions: The results suggest that occupational exposure to levels of benzene, present in urban pollution, would appear not to influence the values of the lipid parameters in traffic policeman

Low-Dose Occupational Exposure to Nickel and Thyroid Hormones

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a low-dose exposure to nickel, as it is present in urban air, on thyroid hormones and on thyrotropin in outdoor workers exposed to urban pollutants. Materials and Methods: A total of 164 outdoor workers were studied and divided by sex and smoking habit. Each worker underwent measurement of urinary nickel and of blood triiodothyronine, L-thyroxine, and thyrotropin levels. The statistical analysis was performed. Results: Statistical analysis shows a significant and positive correlation between urinary nickel and L-thyroxine, both in total sample and in males. Discussion and Conclusion: The study suggests that occupational exposure to a low dose of nickel may affect thyroid function in municipal police workers. These data may provide information on other categories of outdoor workers with similar exposure

The value of mental coaching in the prevention and protection of workers' health

Coaching is defined as an energy-directing method by which resources are channeled and managed so as to make the group of coachees more competitive. The practice of coaching is gaining growing popularity both in the sports world and in the workplace where it is used to maximize performance and productivity and to minimize the effect of problems such as stress and burnout. In particular, the workplace safety coach is responsible for strengthening and enhancing the personal characteristics of the workers as well as identifying and developing the talents of the people he is cooperating with. The figure of the safety coach is legitimized by Legislative Decree 81/08 in which the need for workers to achieve complete physical, mental and social well-being is enshrined. The aim of this document is to emphasize the importance of the mental coach, especially in the workplace, in order to improve work performance and well-being of workers

Cadmium and lipid balance in outdoor workers exposed to urban stressor

The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between levels of blood and urinary cadmium and lipid balance in a group of outdoor workers. The study was conducted on a group of 146 individuals (average age 45,1 ± 8,5). Blood and urinary samples were collected for the detection of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood cadmium and urinary cadmium. We divided the group of workers into two subgroups according to the task:75 traffic policemen and 71 police drivers. Gender differences were found. The Pearson correlation coefficient showed a positive association between blood and urinary cadmium levels and total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides levels. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly higher in the group of traffic policemen than in police drivers. In conclusion, the results suggest a statistically significant association between blood and urinary cadmium levels and lipid balance contributing to an increase of the cardiovascular risk

Urinary nickel and progesterone in workers exposed to urban pollutants

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the exposure to a low dose of nickel could determinate a variation in levels of progesterone in outdoor workers. Materials and methods: Two hundred sixty one subjects were divided by sex, task, age, seniority, and cigarette smoking habit. For each workers was evaluated the dose of blood progesterone and urinary nickel. The statistical analysis was performed. Results: The Pearson correlation showed a statistically significant correlation between urinary nickel levels and progesterone. The multiple linear regression showed a significant correlation between progesterone and urinary nickel in the total sample and in the subgroups of smokers and workers with tasks of traffic direction. Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that occupational exposure to low doses of nickel present in urban pollution may influence to progesterone levels in outdoor worker

PERCEIVED STRESS AND HEPATIC PARAMETERS

Introduction: The aim of the study is to evaluate work-related subjective stress in a group of employees, of both sexes, operating in the healthcare and welfare, through the administration of a questionnaire (HSE "Indicator Tool"), specifically developed and officially validated, and to analyze any possible correlations between stress levels taken from the questionnaire scores and the concentrations of three main hepatic parameters (GOT, GPT, GGT). Materials and Methods: We studied a final sample of 232 subjects (143 males and 89 females) operating in the health and welfare sector. For research purposes during the medical examination each subject underwent the HSE indicator tool, a collection of information about relevant clinical and medical history and a venous blood sample for the assay of GOT, GPT and GGT. All questionnaires were analyzed using special software provided by the HSE. The results obtained from the questionnaires were statistically compared with the blood concentrations of hepatic parameters. Results: The dimensions found to be critical, associated with a stressful condition (yellow area) or a highly stressful condition (red area), are: managers support, colleagues support, quality of relationships and changes. The Pearson’s correlation showed a statistically significant negative correlation (p <0.05) between the mean values of all the critical dimensions and the concentrations of the hepatic parameters, both on the total sample and after subdivision by gender. These results were confirmed in the multiple linear regression analysis, which indicated that the critical dimensions are the main significant variables contributing to the liver parameters alterations. Discussion: Preliminary results indicate that a critical perception of stress at work can be statistically associated with increases in mean concentrations of GOT, GPT and GGT in a working asymptomatic population. These results provide a starting point for future studies on this topic, to a greater definition of the link between stress and liver injury, to confirm the effects on the parameters of liver injury (GOT, GPT, GGT) and to investigate possible correlations with the cholestasis parameters (bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase) and serum albumin