Correspondence to: Karoline Kærgaard Hansen, Department of Occupational Medicine, Danish Ramazzini Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.
Scand J Work Environ Health. 2024 Dec 1;50(8):602-612. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.4187. Epub 2024 Sep 12.
We investigated associations between bioaerosol exposures and work-shift changes in lung function and inflammatory markers among recycling workers.
Inhalable dust was measured with personal samplers and analyzed for endotoxin, bacteria, and fungi (incubated at 25 °C and 37 °C) levels. Lung function (FEV1, FVC) was measured before and after work-shifts and serum concentrations of inflammatory markers (CRP, SAA, CC16, IL1B, IL2, IL4, IL5, IL6, IL8, IL10, IL13, and TNF) after the shift. Associations were explored by linear mixed-effects models.
We included 170 measurements from 88 production workers exposed to inhalable dust, endotoxin, bacteria, and fungi (25 °C and 37 °C) at geometric mean levels of 0.6 mg/m3, 10.7 EU/m3, 1.6×104 CFU/m3, 4.4×104 CFU/m3, and 103 CFU/m3, respectively, and 14 administrative workers exposed at 7-fold lower levels. No associations were observed between bioaerosol exposures and work-shift change in lung function. IL2, IL6, IL10, and TNF concentrations were positively associated with inhalable dust levels, SAA and IL6 with bacteria, CRP, SAA, IL8, and TNF with fungi (25 °C or 37 °C), with the latter being the only statistically significant finding (exp(β) 1.40, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.96).
This study of recycling workers exposed to bioaerosol levels generally below those of farmers and compost workers and above background levels did not indicate any acute effect on lung function. Several inflammatory markers tended to increase with exposure, suggesting a systemic effect. Future research should combine data from bioaerosol-exposed workers to uncover health risks that may form the basis for health-based occupational exposure limits.
我们研究了回收工人在生物气溶胶暴露和轮班变化下，肺功能和炎症标志物的变化。
使用个人采样器测量可吸入粉尘，并分析内毒素、细菌和真菌（在 25°C 和 37°C 下培养）水平。在轮班前和轮班后测量肺功能（FEV1、FVC），并在轮班后测量血清炎症标志物（CRP、SAA、CC16、IL1B、IL2、IL4、IL5、IL6、IL8、IL10、IL13 和 TNF）的浓度。通过线性混合效应模型探讨了这些关联。
我们纳入了 88 名生产工人的 170 次测量结果，这些工人暴露于可吸入粉尘、内毒素、细菌和真菌（25°C 和 37°C），其几何平均水平分别为 0.6mg/m3、10.7EU/m3、1.6×104CFU/m3、4.4×104CFU/m3 和 103CFU/m3，14 名行政工人的暴露水平低 7 倍。我们未观察到生物气溶胶暴露与肺功能轮班变化之间存在关联。IL2、IL6、IL10 和 TNF 浓度与可吸入粉尘水平呈正相关，SAA 和 IL6 与细菌，CRP、SAA、IL8 和 TNF 与真菌（25°C 或 37°C）呈正相关，后两者为唯一具有统计学意义的发现（β的指数为 1.40，95%置信区间为 1.01-1.96）。
本研究中回收工人暴露于生物气溶胶水平通常低于农民和堆肥工人，高于背景水平，但并未表明对肺功能有任何急性影响。一些炎症标志物随暴露而增加，表明存在全身效应。未来的研究应结合生物气溶胶暴露工人的数据，以揭示可能成为基于健康的职业暴露限值基础的健康风险。
