RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To find the effect of the fertilizer factory environment on serum prostatic specific antigen (PSA) levels. DESIGN: A cohort comparative study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The study was conducted at Immunoassay Laboratory of MINAR, Multan from June 2002 to January 2004. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 205 workers, all male, of Pak Arab Fertilizer Factory, Multan had their prostatic specific antigen (PSA) estimated. The age of the workers varied between 22 to 65 years (mean age = 48.3 +/- 8.5 years). The people belonged to various working groups and most of them were on normal Pakistani diet. They had been residing/working in the factory area for a period varying from 5 to 30 years. PSA levels were also estimated in 118 normal persons to serve as a control group. The age of these persons varied from 19 to 64 years. These were mostly hospital staff and general public not residing in the factory area and had no history of prostatic disease. Sensitive and specific immunoradiometric assay techniques were applied to measure the PSA concentrations in serum. RESULTS: Observed PSA levels in this population were between 0.2 and 11.5 ng/ml. Overall mean PSA level was 1.9 +/- 0.84 ng PSA/ml. Mean PSA level observed in control group was 0.73 +/- 0.64 ng/ml (upper 95% limit was 3.2 ng/ml). Comparison of PSA levels of factory workers with values in normal subjects showed that 9 out of 205 male workers (4.3% of total) had significantly elevated levels of PSA. In 2 workers (1% of total) observed PSA levels were above 10 ng/ml. The levels above this limit are most commonly observed in the cancer patients. CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of the workers of the fertilizer factory are at risk of malignant and non-malignant disease of the prostate.
