• Title/Summary/Keyword: biological exposure indices

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Cadmium Exposure and Renal Damage in Individuals with Low Socioeconomic Status in Environmentally Vulnerable Areas (환경보건 취약지역에 거주하는 저소득 집단의 카드뮴 노출과 신장질환 영향)

  • Yong Min Cho;Hohyun Jin;Jiyun Kang;Chahun Kim;Dahee Han;Su Hyeon Kim;Seohui Han;Young-Seoub Hong;Ki-Tae Kim
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.49 no.1
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    • pp.48-56
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    • 2023
  • Background: Few studies have assessed exposure to chemicals in the context of environmental vulnerability with a focus on exposure among populations living in certain geographical areas. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate cadmium exposure levels and kidney damage indices in environmentally and socioeconomically vulnerable populations, with further subgrouping according to economic status. Methods: Four areas were selected to represent geographical vulnerability (two environmentally vulnerable populations and two socioeconomically vulnerable populations). Among them, population groups with lower socioeconomic status (SES) were separately classified. Urinary cadmium (UCd), beta2-microglobulin (β2-MG), and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) levels were analyzed in samples from 245 residents of these four areas. Results: Geometric means of concentrations of UCd (0.97~2.02 ㎍/g creatinine) in all selected populations (N, 245; mean age, 67.8~70.9 years old) were higher than the national reference values (0.39 for adults and 0.78 ㎍/g creatinine for people in their 60s). Participants with a lower SES had higher UCd and NAG concentrations than did non-low SES participants. In the lower SES group, there was a significant association between UCd and NAG concentrations; however, there was no such correlation in the non-low SES group. Conclusions: Consistent with the findings of previous studies evaluating chemical exposure and associated health effects in specific populations, the findings of this study suggest that individuals with a low SES may be more vulnerable to exposure and related health effects.

An Assessment of Korean Housewives Exposed to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocabons(PAHs) in Indoor Air (일부 주부의 실내공기 중 PAHs 노출에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Tae-Hyung;Kim, Yun-Sin;Son, Bu-Soon
    • Journal of Environmental Science International
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    • v.16 no.3
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    • pp.323-331
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    • 2007
  • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are well known for strong carcinogen. However, the human exposure analysis of PAHs is quite difficult and unreliable because of hard for estimation of actual expose dose. Then urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) has been a biological marker of exposure to PAHs. The purpose of this study was to investigate total amount from exposure to PAHs soused by indoor occupational exposure, and residence at Seoul metropolitan area and Kyeonggi province in Korea. Thirty-five housewives were included in this study from April 2003 through February 2004. Dietary habit and general characteristics such as age, type of building, existence of passive smoking, period of residence, fuel type for heating and ventilation type were obtained by self administered questionnaire. Urine samples were collected at morning and freeze quickly. Urinary creatinine was measured for converting into 24 hr urine. Concentration of the indoor PAHs was examined by NIOSH method number 5506. Urinary 1-OHP and PAHs were analysed by HPLC. Correlation coefficient between urinary 1-OHP levels and pyrene concentration of indoor air was 0.66 and statistically significant(P<0.01). The difference of urinary 1-OHP level due to dietary habits were not significant. Urinary 1-OHP level of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter were $0.21{\pm}0.12,\;0.10{\pm}0.17,\;0.16{\pm}0.12,\;0.17{\pm}0.14{\mu}g/g$ cr, respectively. The arithmetic means of urinary 1-OHP for four season tee $0.16{\pm}0.14 {\mu}g/g$ cr. There was a trend that urinary 1-OHP level of residents who dwelling in apartment were higher compared with detached home, Comparison of 1-OHP level between heating by kerosene and LPG, Much higher gas heating type than kerosene type (P<0.05). This result implies that the urinary 1-OHP can be applied as the PAHs exposure indices.

Environmental and biological monitoring of workers exposed to methyl bromide through quarantine fumigation (방역작업자의 브롬화메틸(methyl bromide) 노출수준과 생물학적 모니터링)

  • Lee, Jong-Seong;Lee, Yong-Hag;Shin, Jae-Hoon;Choi, Jung-Keun;O, Cha-Jae;Jung, Ho-Keun
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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    • v.11 no.3
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    • pp.212-218
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    • 2001
  • This study was performed to estimate environmental and biological monitoring of workers exposed to methyl bromide through quarantine fumigation. Airborne methyl bromide and it's metabolites were analyzed by gas chromatography and ion chromatography, respectively. The results are as followings; airborne concentration of methyl bromide(TWA) was $2.08{\pm}1.56ppm$(N=8). Dispersion and setting/degas groups were $0.67{\pm}0.12ppm$(N=2) and $2.54{\pm}1.53ppm$(N=6), respectively. Bromide ion concentration in serum was $23.40{\pm}14.91mg/{\ell}$(N=10) in the exposed workers and $4.74{\pm}0.82mg/{\ell}$(N=21) in the non-exposed workers. Bromide ion concentration in urine was $35.56{\pm}26.89mg/{\ell}$(N=11) in exposed group and $6.62{\pm}2.31mg/{\ell}$(N=21) in non-exposed group. Good correlation was observed between concentration of serum and urine ($r^2$=0.890 p<0.01). No significant correlations of other determinants were observed. Calculated from a regressive curve, the biological half lifes of serum and urine were 10.7 and 5.9 days. In these results, biological monitoring of bromide ion of serum and urine provided useful information for evaluating exposure of workers to methyl bromide, so that an availability of bromide ion of biological samples was showed as biological monitoring indices for methyl bromide.

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The Relationship between Exposure to Benzene and the Excretion of Urinary Trans, Trans-muconic Acid in Petrochemical Factory Turnaround Process Workers (석유화학공장 대정비 작업 근로자의 벤젠 노출과 요중 trans, trans-muconic acid 배설과의 관계)

  • Lee, Seung Min;Won, Jong Uk;Kim, Chi Nyon;Roh, Jaehoon
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.52-58
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    • 2014
  • Objectives: Using laborers participating in the petrochemical factory turnaround process as subjects, this study aims to identify exposure to benzene in the air and examine the relationship between exposure and the excretion of urinary metabolites by measuring concentrations of urinary trans, trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA). Methods: A passive sampler was used to measure the level of benzene in the air. In order to analyze urinary metabolites, the urine of laborers participating in the turnaround process was collected twice daily, both before and after work. In addition, a survey was conducted on work factors and lifestyle habits as factors affecting the concentration of urinary metabolites. Results: During the survey period, benzene was detected in the samples from all workers, and its average concentration was $0.16{\pm}0.22ppm$. The average concentration of t,t-MA after work was $1.20{\pm}1.86mg/g$ creatinine, and the results of analyzing urinary metabolites concentration before and after work showed statistically significant differences(p=0.003). There was also a statistically significant correlation (r=0.52, p=0.002) between benzene in the air and the concentration of after-work urinary t,t-MA. Conclusions: During the turnaround process, the average benzene concentration in workers was $0.16{\pm}0.22ppm$, which was below the exposure limit. However, their average t,t-MA concentration was $1.20{\pm}1.86mg/g$ creatinine, which exceeded the exposure limit of 1mg/g creatinine. The characteristics of turnaround process work require considerations such as underestimating the passive sampler being used and the skin absorption of benzene, and there needs to be a simultaneous assessment of working environment measurements and biological monitoring.

Influence of Smoking on Blood Cadmium Concentration in University Students (흡연이 대학생들의 혈중 카드뮴 농도에 미치는 영향)

  • Shin, Joo-Youn;Lim, Jong-Han;Park, Sin-Goo;Lee, Jee-Na;Jang, Mi;Huh, Chung-Song;Kang, Dae-Hee;Hong, Yun-Chul
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.37 no.3
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    • pp.225-231
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    • 2004
  • Objectives : This study was performed to examine the influence of smoking on the blood cadmium concentration in university students. Methods : The study included 300 university students. A questionnaire interview was used to collect data. The urine cotinine and blood cadmium levels were measured as biological exposure indices. The data were analyzed using t-tests ANOVA and ANCOVA. Results : The median value of blood cadmium concentration was equal in both males and females ($0.8{\mu}g/l$). This level was relatively low in comparison with the reference value suggested by WHO (2001). ANCOVA showed that smoking related variables, urine cotinine and smoking amount, were significantly associated with the blood cadmium level (P=0.004, 0.015). However, the values with regard to traffic related air pollution were not significantly associated with the blood cadmium level. Conclusions : Smoking is an important source of nonoccupational cadmium exposure in young people. The Blood cadmium level is at least 10% higher in active smokers than in passive or nonsmokers. The level of urine cotinine can be used as an indicator of non-occupational exposure of respirable cadmium due to smoking, as there is a good correlation bestween smoking amount and the urine cotinine level.

Application on Multi-biomarker Assessment in Environmental Health Status Monitoring of Coastal System (해역 건강도 평가를 위한 다매체 바이오마커 적용)

  • Jung, Jee-Hyun;Ryu, Tae-Kwon;Lee, Taek-Kyun
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.30 no.1
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    • pp.109-117
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    • 2008
  • Application of biomarkers for assessing marine environmental health risk is a relatively new field. According to the National Research Council and the World Health Organization, biomarkers can be divided into three classes: biomarkers of exposure, biomarkers of effect, and biomarkers of susceptibility. In order to assess exposure to or effect of the environmental pollutants on marine ecosystem, the following set of biomarkers can be examined: detoxification, oxidative stress, biotransformation products, stress responses, apoptosis, physiological metabolisms, neuromuscular responses, reproductions, steroid hormones, antioxidants, genetic modifications. Since early 1990s, several biomarker research groups have developed health indices of marine organisms to be used for assessing the state of the marine environment. Biomarker indices can be used to interpret data obtained from monitoring biological effects. In this review, we will summarize Health assessment Index, Biomarker Index, Bioeffect Assessment Index and Generalized Linear Model. Measurements of biomarker responses and development of biomarker index in marine organisms from contaminated sites offer great a lot of information, which can be used in environmental monitoring programs, designed for various aspects of ecosystem risk assessment.

The change of validity of blood zinc protoporphyrin test by different cut-off level in lead workers (연취급 근로자들의 혈중 ZPP 농도 선별기준에 따른 정확도의 변화)

  • Kim, Yong-Bae;Ahn, Hyun-Cheol;HwangBo, Young;Lee, Gap-Soo;Lee, Sung-Soo;Ahn, Kyu-Dong;Lee, Byung-Kook
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.30 no.4 s.59
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    • pp.741-751
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    • 1997
  • Measurement of blood lead (PbB) and blood zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) are most common biological indices to identify the individual at risk for excess or the health sequences by lead exposure. Because PbB is known most important and reliable index of lead exposure, PbB is often regarded as a gold standard to detect lead exposure. But in Korea PbB is a secondary test item of detailed health check-up with positive finding of screening test in most occasion. Our lead standard requires all lead workers to take annual heath-check twice a year for investigation of their health effect due to lead exposure. Blood ZPP is one of most important index to detect high lead absorption in lead workers as a screening test. Measurement of blood ZPP is known ,well to correlate with PbB in steady state of exposure in most lead workers and is often used as a primary screening test to detect high lead absorption of lead workers with the advantage of simplicity, easiness, portability and low cost. The current cut-off criteria of blood ZPP for further detailed health check-up is $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ which is supposed to match the level of $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ of PbB according to our standard. Authors tried to investigate the validity of current criteria of cut-off level $(100{\mu}g/d\ell)$ of blood ZPP and possible another better cut-off level of it to detect the lead workers whose PbB level over $40{\mu}g/d\ell$. The subjects in our study were 212 male workers in three small scale storage battery industries. Blood ZPP, PbB and hemoglobin (Hb) were selected as the indices of lead exposure. The results were as follows. 1. The mean of blood ZPP, PbB and Hb in lead workers were $79.5{\pm}46.7{\mu}g/d\ell,\;38.7{\pm}15.1{\mu}g/d\ell,\;and\;14.8{\pm}1.2g/d\ell$, respectively. There were significant differences in blood ZPP, PbB and Hb by industry (P<0.01). 2. The percents of lead workers whose blood ZPP were above $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ in the group of work duration below 1, 1-4, 5-9 and above 10 years were 8.6%, 17.2%, 47.6%, and 50.0%, respectively. The percents of lead workers whose PbB were above $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ in those were 31.4%, 40.4%, 71.4%, and 86.4%, respectively. 3. The percents of lead workers whose PbB were below $40{\mu}g/d\ell$, $40-59{\mu}g/d\ell$ and above $60{\mu}g/d\ell$ were 54.7%, 34.9% and 10.4%, respectively. Those of lead workers whose blood ZPP were below $100{\mu}g/d\ell$, $100-149{\mu}g/d\ell$ and above $150{\mu}g/d\ell$ were 79.2%, 13.7% and 7.1%, respectively. 4. Simple linear regression of PbB on blood ZPP was statistically significant (P<0.01) and as PbB was $40{\mu}g/d\ell$, blood ZPP was $82.1{\mu}g/d\ell$. 5. While the highest sensitivity and specificity of blood ZPP test to detect lead workers with PbB eve. $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ were observed in the cut-off level of $50{\mu}g/d\ell$ and $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ of blood ZPP, respectively, the highest validity (sensitivity+specificity) of blood ZPP to detect lead workers with PbB over $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ was observed in the cut-off level of around $70{\mu}g/d\ell$ of blood ZPP. But even with optimal cut-off level of around $70{\mu}g/d\ell$ of blood ZPP, still 25.0% of false negative and 20.7% false positive lead workers were found. As the result of this study, it was suggested that reconsideration of current blood ZPP cut-off of our lead standard from $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ to somewhat lower level such as around $70{\mu}g/d\ell$ and the inclusion of PbB measurement as a primary screening test for lead workers was highly recommended for the effective prevention of lead workers.

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Significance of brain magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) in the assessment of occupational manganese exposure (직업적 망간 폭로에 있어서 뇌자기공명영상의 의의)

  • 정해관
    • Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.14-30
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    • 1998
  • Manganese is an essential element in the body. It is mainly deposited in the liver and to a lesser degree in the basal ganglia of the brain and eliminated through the bile duct. Rapid turnover of managanese in the body makes it difficult to evaluate the manganese exposure in workers, esecially in those with irregular or intermittent exposure, like welders. Therefore, conventional biomarkers, including blood and urine manganese can provide only a limited information about the long-tern or cumulative exposure to manganese. Introduction of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) made a progress in the assessment of manganese exposure in the medical conditions related to manganese accumulation, e. g. hepatic failure and long-term total parenteral nutrition. Manganese shortens spin-lattice(T1) relaxation time on MRI due to its paramagnetic property, resulting in high signal intensity (HSI) on T1-weighted image(T1W1) of MRI. Manganese deposition in the brain, therefore, can be visualizedas an HSI in the globus pallidus, the substantia nigra, the putamen and the pituitary. clinical and epidemiologic studies regarding the MRI findings in the cases of occupational and non-occupational manganese exposure were reviewed. relationships between HSI on T1W1 of MRI and age, gender, occupational manganese exposure, and neurological dysfunction were analysed. Relationships betwen biological exposure indices and HSI on MRE werealso reviewed. Literatures were reviewed to establish the relationships between HSI, Manganese deposition in the brain, pathologic findings, and neurological dysfunction. HSI on T1W1 of MRI reflects regional manganese deposition in the brain. This relationship enables an estimation of regional manganese deposition in the brain by analysing MR signal intensity. Manganese deposition in the brain can induce a neuronal loss in the basal ganglia but functional abnormality is supposed to be related to the cumulative exposure of manganese in the brain, use of brain MRI for the assessment of exposure in a group of workers seems to be hardly rationalized, while ti can be a useful adjunct for the evaluation of manganese exposure int he cases with suspected manganese-related health problems.

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Urinary 1-Hydroxypyrene and 2-Naphthol as a Biological Exposure Markers of Total Suspended Particulate in the General Population (일반 인구집단에 대한 대기중 총먼지의 생물학적 노출지표로서 요중 1-hydroxypyrene 및 2-naphthol의 유용성)

  • Kang, Jong-Won;Kim, Heon;Kang, Dae-Hee;Lee, Chul-Ho;Cho, Soo-Hun
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.306-312
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    • 2000
  • Background : Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are well known environmental pollutants. The measurement of PAH in ambient air is not commonly used, because it is quite difficult to perform and is unreliable. Using biomarkers of PAH can be an alternative approach to this problem. The PAH in ambient air is absorbed in particulate matter. Total suspended particulate(TSP) or particulate matter of less than $10{\mu}m$ in diameter (PM10) can be easily measured. Therefore, TSP or PM10 can be used as a surrogate measurements of ambient air PAH. Objectives : We investigated whether the urinary concentration of two biomarkers of PAH, 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and 2-naphthol, could reflect the total suspended particulate in the general population. Methods : In order to exclude the effects of occupational exposure and smoking, first grade middle school students were included in this study. Four middle schools within a one kilometer boundary of ambient air monitoring stations were selected. Total suspended particulate was regarded as the marker of airborne PAH. Diet and smoking data were collected by self administered questionnaires, and spot urine samples were collected. Urinary 1-OHP and 2-naphthol were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Results : The correlation between urinary 1-OHP, 2-naphthol and passive smoking was not statistically significant. The correlation between urinary 1-OHP and TSP indices was not statistically significant. The correlations between urinary 2-naphthol and TSP of two lag days, one lag day, and zero lag days were statistically significant. The statistical significance of two lag days was the strongest (p=0.001), one lag day was the next (p=0.0275), and zero lag days was the weakest (p=0.0349). Conclusion : Our results imply that the urinary concentration of 2-naphthol can be applied as a PAH exposure marker for the general population with low PAH exposure.

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A Mixture of Ethanol Extracts of Persimmon Leaf and Citrus junos Sieb Improves Blood Coagulation Parameters and Ameliorates Lipid Metabolism Disturbances Caused by Diet-Induced Obesity in C57BL/6J Mice

  • Kim, Ae Hyang;Kim, Hye Jin;Ryu, Ri;Han, Hye Jin;Han, Young Ji;Lee, Mi-Kyung;Choi, Myung-Sook;Park, Yong Bok
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.295-308
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    • 2016
  • This study investigated the effects of a flavonoid-rich ethanol extract of persimmon leaf (PL), an ethanol extract of Citrus junos Sieb (CJS), and a PL-CJS mixture (MPC) on mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). We sought to elucidate the mechanisms of biological activity of these substances using measurements of blood coagulation indices and lipid metabolism parameters. C57BL/6J mice were fed a HFD with PL (0.5% (w/w)), CJS (0.1% (w/w)), or MPC (PL 0.5%, CJS 0.1% (w/w)) for 10 weeks. In comparison with data obtained for mice in the untreated HFD group, consumption of MPC remarkably prolonged the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and prothrombin time (PT), whereas exposure to PL prolonged aPTT only. Lower levels of plasma total cholesterol, hepatic cholesterol, and erythrocyte thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, hepatic HMG-CoA reductase, and decreased SREBP-1c gene expression were observed in mice that received PL and MPC supplements compared with the respective values detected in the untreated HFD animals. Our results indicate that PL and MPC may have beneficial effects on blood circulation and lipid metabolism in obese mice.