Effect of vinyl chloride on liver function and serum sex hormones in male workers / 中国职业医学

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of vinyl chloride on the blood sex hormones and liver function of male workers. METHODS: A total of 129 male vinyl chloride workers(exposure group) and 128 male office workers who were not exposed to occupational hazards(control group) were selected as study subjects by judgment sampling method. The time weighted average concentration(C_(TWA)) of vinyl chloride in the workplace air was measured. The level of urine thiodiglycolic acid(TDGA), blood routine, electrocardiogram and liver B-ultrasound were performed on the subjects. The serum levels of liver function and sex hormones were measured. RESULTS: The median of C_(TWA) of vinyl chloride in the workplace was 0.90 mg/m~3, and the geometric mean was 1.40 mg/m~3. The level of urine TDGA in the exposed group was higher than that of the control group(median 0.68 vs 0.02 mg/g Cr, P<0.01). The abnormal rate of hemoglobin level, erythrocyte count, leukocyte count, hematocrit, mean platelet volume, aspartate transaminase, total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin and liver B-ultrasound increased in the exposure group than that of the control group(P<0.05). The levels of serum prolactin, leuteinizing hormone(LH), follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol in the exposure group increased, the abnormal rates of prolactin, LH and estradiol increased, and the level of testosterone decreased compared with the control group(P<0.05). The levels of prolactin in the low-, medium-and high-TDGA subgroups in the exposure group increased(P<0.05), and the abnormal rates increased compared with the control group(P<0.017). CONCLUSION: Vinyl chloride can cause liver function damage in male workers and have reproductive toxicity. Prolactin can be used as a biomarker of reproductive toxicity of vinyl chloride.