D'Andrea Mark A, Reddy G Kesava
University Cancer and Diagnostic Centers , Houston, TX , USA.
Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2014 Feb;31(1):1-10. doi: 10.3109/08880018.2013.831511. Epub 2013 Oct 2.
Human exposure to benzene is associated with multiple adverse health effects leading to hematological malignancies. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the health consequences of benzene exposure in children following a flaring incident at the British petroleum (BP) refinery in Texas City, Texas. The study included children aged <17 years who had been exposed and unexposed to benzene. Using medical charts, clinical data including white blood cell (WBC) counts, platelets counts, hemoglobin, hematocrit, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), and somatic symptom complaints by the children exposed to benzene were reviewed and analyzed. A total of 312 subjects (benzene exposed, n = 157 and unexposed, n = 155) were included. Hematologic analysis showed that WBC counts were significantly decreased in benzene-exposed children compared with the unexposed children (6.8 ± 2.1 versus 7.3 ± 1.7, P = .022). Conversely, platelet (X 10(3) per μL) counts were increased significantly in the benzene-exposed group compared with the unexposed group (278.4 ± 59.9 versus 261.6 ± 51.7, P = .005). Similarly, benzene-exposed children had significantly higher levels of ALP (183.7± 95.6 versus 165 ± 70.3 IU/L, P = .04), AST (23.6 ± 15.3 versus 20.5 ± 5.5 IU/L, P = .015), and ALT (19.2 ± 7.8 versus 16.9 ± 6.9 IU/L, P = .005) compared with the unexposed children. Together, the results of the study reveal that children exposed to benzene experienced significantly altered blood profiles, liver enzymes, and somatic symptoms indicating that children exposed to benzene are at a higher risk of developing hepatic or blood related disorders.
人类接触苯与多种不良健康影响相关，可导致血液系统恶性肿瘤。这项回顾性研究的目的是评估德克萨斯州德克萨斯城英国石油公司（BP）炼油厂发生火炬事故后儿童接触苯对健康的影响。该研究纳入了年龄小于17岁且接触和未接触苯的儿童。通过查阅病历，对包括白细胞（WBC）计数、血小板计数、血红蛋白、血细胞比容、血尿素氮（BUN）、肌酐、碱性磷酸酶（ALP）、天冬氨酸氨基转移酶（AST）、丙氨酸氨基转移酶（ALT）等临床数据以及接触苯的儿童的躯体症状主诉进行了回顾和分析。总共纳入了312名受试者（接触苯组，n = 157；未接触苯组，n = 155）。血液学分析表明，与未接触苯的儿童相比，接触苯的儿童白细胞计数显著降低（6.8±2.1对7.3±1.7，P = 0.022）。相反，与未接触苯组相比，接触苯组的血小板（每微升×10³）计数显著增加（278.4±59.9对261.6±51.7，P = 0.005）。同样，与未接触苯的儿童相比，接触苯的儿童的碱性磷酸酶（183.7±95.6对165±70.3 IU/L，P = 0.04）、天冬氨酸氨基转移酶（23.6±15.3对20.5±5.5 IU/L，P = 0.015）和丙氨酸氨基转移酶（19.2±7.8对16.9±6.9 IU/L，P = 0.005）水平显著更高。总之，研究结果表明，接触苯的儿童血液指标、肝酶和躯体症状发生了显著改变，这表明接触苯的儿童患肝脏或血液相关疾病的风险更高。
