Ahmadi Jalaldehi Pourya, Abbaslou Hossein, Shahtaheri Seyed Jamaleddin, Malekshahi Ziba Veisi, Farahmand Derav Nasim, Azam Kamal, Khadem Monireh
Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 1;15(1):21585. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-05444-9.
Heavy metals impact the urban population, the environment, and workers exposed to these pollutants. Green space workers during the day shift and peak city traffic hours have constant exposure to air pollutants. This study aimed to determine the concentration of heavy metals including, Cd, Co, and Zn in urine and breathing air samples among green space workers as the exposed group and office employees as the control group of Tehran Municipality and investigate the associations between heavy metal exposure and DNA oxidative stress. In addition, a comparative analysis was conducted between those groups. NIOSH-7300 and NIOSH-8310 were used to collect and prepare air and urine samples. The final sample concentration was measured by ICP-OES. ZellBio GmbH kits were used to measure the levels of urinary 8-OHDG (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine), a biomarker of DNA oxidative stress. The mean concentration of urinary and air heavy metals and urinary 8-OHDG, except for Cd in the air, exhibited a statistically significant increase in the exposed group compared to the control group (P < 0.001). Moreover, the Pearson correlation coefficient (R) between urinary heavy metals and 8-OHDG values in the exposed group revealed that there are significant relations between urinary Cd, Co, and Zn with 8-OHDG: R = 0.734, R = 0.836, and R = 0.584 respectively (P < 0.001). No correlations were observed between heavy metals and 8-OHDG in the control group. Findings revealed that cobalt and cadmium exhibit the most significant influence on changes in oxidative stress, as indicated by the dependent variable 8-OHDG. This study compared urban green space workers with office employees, revealing elevated concentrations of Cd, Co, and Zn in the air and urine of the exposed group. Green space workers exhibited significantly higher urinary 8-OHDG, indicating increased DNA oxidative stress. The findings highlight the urgent need for protective measures and occupational health interventions for green space workers.
重金属影响城市人口、环境以及接触这些污染物的工人。白天轮班且正值城市交通高峰时段的绿地工作人员持续暴露于空气污染物中。本研究旨在测定德黑兰市绿地工作人员（作为暴露组）和办公室职员（作为对照组）尿液及呼吸空气样本中镉（Cd）、钴（Co）和锌（Zn）等重金属的浓度，并调查重金属暴露与DNA氧化应激之间的关联。此外，还对这两组进行了比较分析。采用美国国家职业安全与健康研究所（NIOSH）的7300和8310方法来采集和制备空气及尿液样本。最终样本浓度通过电感耦合等离子体发射光谱仪（ICP - OES）进行测量。使用德国ZellBio GmbH公司的试剂盒来测量尿液中8 - 羟基 - 2'-脱氧鸟苷（8 - OHDG）的水平，这是一种DNA氧化应激的生物标志物。与对照组相比，暴露组尿液和空气中重金属以及尿液8 - OHDG的平均浓度均呈现出统计学上的显著升高（P < 0.001）。此外，暴露组尿液中重金属与8 - OHDG值之间的皮尔逊相关系数（R）表明，尿液中的镉、钴和锌与8 - OHDG之间存在显著关系：R分别为0.734、0.836和0.584（P < 0.001）。对照组中未观察到重金属与8 - OHDG之间的相关性。研究结果表明，作为因变量的8 - OHDG显示钴和镉对氧化应激变化的影响最为显著。本研究将城市绿地工作人员与办公室职员进行了比较，发现暴露组空气中和尿液中的镉、钴和锌浓度升高。绿地工作人员尿液中的8 - OHDG显著更高，表明DNA氧化应激增加。研究结果凸显了对绿地工作人员采取保护措施和职业健康干预的迫切需求。
