Effect of Hours of Exposure to Cement Dust on Cancers Markers on Cement Workers in Port Harcourt

Abstract

The study was aimed at evaluating the effect of cement dust exposure on cement loaders in Port Harcourt. The study was a cross sectional study which used convenient sampling size of 100 healthy male cement workers recruited in one cement depot and eight cement loading sites in Port Harcourt using simple random technique. Subjects were classified into three groups based on daily hour cement exposure; group 1 (1-5 hrs), group 2 (6-10 hrs) and group 3 (>10 hrs). Group 1 had 27 subjects, group 2 had 62 subjects and group 3 had 11 subjects. 4 ml of the venous blood was drawn into plain vacutainer bottles for the evaluation of Neuron specific Enolase, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A, and Total Antioxidant Status. ELISA method was used for the laboratory determination of VEGF-A and NSE while a colorimetric method was used for TAS estimation. Results showed TAS level among the classes was not significantly different (p=0.3304) and has the mean value of 2.02±0.40; 2.16±0.41 and 2.1 ±0.41 in groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. VEGF-A level among the classes was not significantly different (p=0.7123) with mean value of 406.00 ±234.80; 439.60 ±369.40 and 361.00 ±171.00 in groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The mean value for NSE level among the groups (1, 2, and 3) were 3.78±1.49; 4.17±2.91 and 3.42±0.98 but there was no significantly difference (p=0.5551). This has shown that hourly exposure to cement dust among healthy cement workers does not have significant impact on cancer markers (VEGF-A, NSE and TAS). A higher timeframe assessment may provide a better picture of the effect of cement dust exposure since many diseases associated with cement dust exposure are chronic.