Assessment of Industrial Antimony Exposure and Immunologic Function for Workers in Taiwan
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Groups
2.2. Sample Collection and Analysis for Antimony
2.2.1. Air Sample
2.2.2. Blood Sample
2.2.3. Urine Sample
2.2.4. Hair Sample
2.3. White Blood Cell and Immunoglobulins Determination
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. The Attributes of Subjects
3.2. The Antimony Levels in the Air of Worksite and in Blood, Urine and Hairs Samples
3.3. White Blood Cell Count and Immunoglobulin Indicators
3.4. The Correlation between Immunological Levels and Antimony Levels
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variables | Workers | Administrators | Total | p-Value * |
---|---|---|---|---|
N = 91 | N = 42 | N = 133 | ||
Age, years | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
<30 | 16 (17.6) | 0 | 16 (12.0) | <0.001 |
30–39 | 30 (33.0) | 9 (21.4) | 39 (29.3) | |
40–49 | 31 (34.1) | 19 (45.3) | 50 (37.6) | |
50–59 | 14 (15.3) | 8 (19.1) | 22 (16.5) | |
≥60 | 0 | 6 (14.2) | 6 (4.5) | |
Years at work | ||||
<10 | 19 (20.9) | 4 (9.5) | 23 (17.3) | 0.001 |
10~19 | 50 (55.0) | 18 (42.9) | 68 (51.1) | |
20~29 | 22 (24.1) | 15 (35.7) | 37 (27.8) | |
≥30 | 0 | 5 (11.9) | 5 (3.8) | |
Smoking | ||||
Yes | 26 (28.6) | 13 (31.9) | 39 (29.3) | 0.78 |
No | 65 (71.4) | 29 (69.1) | 94 (70.7) | |
Drinking | ||||
Yes | 30 (33.0) | 14 (33.3) | 44 (33.1) | 0.97 |
No | 61 (67.0) | 28 (66.7) | 89 (66.9) | |
Betel nut use | ||||
Yes | 28 (30.8) | 12 (28.6) | 40 (30.1) | 0.80 |
No | 63 (69.2) | 30 (71.4) | 93 (69.9) | |
Diagnosed allergy | ||||
Yes | 17 (18.7) | 12 (28.6) | 29 (21.8) | 0.20 |
No | 74 (81.3) | 30 (71.4) | 104 (78.2) |
Factory | Antimony Concentration | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Air (mg/m3) | Blood (μg/L) | Urine (μg/g cre. a) | Hair (μg/g) | |
Glass | ||||
Workers (n = 55) | 0.14 ± 0.01 | 0.78 ± 0.21 | 5.60 ± 1.24 | 0.10 ± 0.01 |
Administrativestaff (n = 20) | 0.007 ± 0.001 | 0.60 ± 0.11 | 2.55 ± 0.71 | 0.06 ± 0.01 |
p-value * | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
Antimony trioxide | ||||
Workers (n = 14) | 2.51 ± 0.57 | 3.88 ± 1.10 | 27.15 ± 6.00 | 5.66 ± 3.66 |
Administrativestaff (n = 9) | 0.04 ± 0.01 | 1.07 ± 0.87 | 2.09 ± 0.55 | 0.04 ± 0.004 |
p-value * | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.001 | <0.001 |
Engineering plastic | ||||
Workers (n = 22) | 0.21 ± 0.06 | 2.17 ± 0.48 | 7.48 ± 1.30 | 0.32 ± 0.05 |
Administrativestaff (n = 13) | 0.004 ± 0.001 | 0.49 ± 0.05 | 1.86 ± 0.55 | 0.04 ± 0.004 |
p-value * | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
Total | ||||
Workers (n = 91) | 0.52 ± 0.88 | 1.61 ± 1.25 | 9.28 ± 6.31 | 1.00 ± 2.35 |
Administrativestaff (n = 42) | 0.012 ± 0.015 | 0.602 ± 0.0.140 | 2.26 ± 0.0.68 | 0.048 ± 0.041 |
p-value * | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
Immunological Indicators | Workers | Administrators | Total | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
N = 91 | N = 42 | N = 133 | ||
WBC, 103/μL | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
<4 | 1 (1.1) | 0 | 1 (0.8) | 0.69 |
4–10 a | 81 (89.0) | 39 (92.9) | 120 (90.2) | |
>10 | 9 (9.9) | 3 (7.1) | 12 (9.0) | |
Mean (SD) | 6.59 (1.99) | 6.00 (1.71) | 6.41 (1.92) | 0.051 |
Lymphocyte, % | ||||
<30 | 26 (28.6) | 6 (14.3) | 32 (24.1) | 0.20 |
30–40 a | 61 (67.0) | 34 (81.0) | 95 (71.4) | |
>40 | 4 (4.4) | 2 (4.7) | 6 (4.5) | |
Mean (SD) | 32.3 (4.78) | 33.2 (3.99) | 32.6 (4.56) | 0.160 |
Monocyte, % | ||||
<4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
4–10 a | 91 (100.0) | 42 (100.0) | 133 (100.0) | |
>10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Mean (SD) | 6.71 (0.76) | 6.80 (0.82) | 6.74 (0.78) | 0.899 |
IgG, mg/dL | ||||
<700 | 1 (1.1) | 0 | 1 (0.8) | 0.50 |
700–1600 a | 90 (98.9) | 42 (100.0) | 132 (99.2) | |
>1600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Mean (SD) | 925.7 (131.5) | 989.6 (94.7) | 945.4 (124.5) | 0.001 |
IgA, mg/dL | ||||
<70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
70–400 a | 91 (100.0) | 42 (100.0) | 133 (100.0) | |
>400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Mean (SD) | 225.7 (32.9) | 248.3 (26.3) | 232.6 (32.6) | <0.001 |
IgE, mg/dL | ||||
0~200 a | 91 (100.0) | 42 (100.0) | 133 (100.0) | - |
>200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Mean (SD) | 123.6 (18.7) | 135.7 (16.6) | 127.3 (18.9) | <0.001 |
Immunological Indicators | Antimony in | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Air | Blood | Urine | Hair | |
WBC | 0.135 | 0.010 | 0.126 | 0.143 |
Lymphocyte | −0.104 | −0.106 | −0.121 | −0.137 |
Monocyte | −0.117 | −0.300 ** | −0.175 * | −0.164 |
IgG | −0.260 * | −0.026 | −0.157 | −0.187 * |
IgA | −0.366 ** | −0.291 ** | −0.355 ** | −0.370 ** |
IgE | −0.236 * | −0.171 * | −0.175 * | −0.217 * |
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Wu, C.-C.; Chen, Y.-C. Assessment of Industrial Antimony Exposure and Immunologic Function for Workers in Taiwan. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 689. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14070689
Wu C-C, Chen Y-C. Assessment of Industrial Antimony Exposure and Immunologic Function for Workers in Taiwan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017; 14(7):689. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14070689
Chicago/Turabian StyleWu, Chin-Ching, and Yi-Chun Chen. 2017. "Assessment of Industrial Antimony Exposure and Immunologic Function for Workers in Taiwan" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, no. 7: 689. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14070689