ABSTRACT
Most of the studies have reported higher occupational health hazards on hazardous waste workers [HWW]. However reports regarding the association between health hazards and pro-inflammatory cytokines in HWW are scantly. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between occupational health hazards and serum pro-inflammatory cytokines in HWW. One hundred two subjects working in hazardous waste areas in different parts of Bangalore at Karnataka, India were enrolled into the study in 2009. Using questionnaire the respiratory morbidity and other work related problems in HWW was carried. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in study subjects were determined by using Enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay kits [Pierce Biotechnology, USA]. The differences of serum pro-inflammatory cytokines levels between the groups were computed by using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. SPSS 10.0 for windows version of statistical software was used in the analysis. The morbidity conditions such as respiratory [34%], musculo-skeletal [24.5%], past illnesses [12.7%], dermatological [11.8%], gastrointestinal [9.8%], injuries due to contact with sharp objects and heavy equipments [7.8%] and nose and eye [4.9%] problems were observed in HWW. The levels of serum pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-8 [P=0.041] and TNF-alpha were significantly associated with subjects having respiratory symptoms and further supporting that they are inflammatory markers in respiratory symptoms