Comparative Study of Changes in Inflammatory Markers on Hours of Exposure to Cement Dust

Background: There has been a growing concern about the health of people exposed to cement dust.

Objective: This study was aimed at assessing the effect of cement dust on inflammatory markers on cement loaders with different duration of hourly exposure.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study design conducted in Port Harcourt, Nigeria with 100 male cement workers grouped into 3 groups based on the hourly duration of cement dust exposure. Group 1 (27 subjects) was exposed to 1-5 daily hours; Group 2 (62 subjects), was exposed to 6-10 daily hours, and Group C (11 subjects), was exposed to more than 10 daily hours. The ELISA analysis of C-Reactive protein (CRP), IL-1β, and IL-10 was performed. The data generated were analyzed for mean and standard deviation by ANOVA.

Results: The CRP levels were 5.42 ± 4.72; 6.71 ± 4.96 and 9.04 ± 8.83 in groups 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The p-value was 0.1771 implying no significant difference. The IL-10 levels were 15.72 ± 12.58; 12.23 ± 10.12 and 11.83 ± 8.88 in groups 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The p-value was 0.3421 implying no significant difference. The IL-1β levels were 3.81 ± 1.02; 3.63 ± 1.36 and 3.91 ± 1.21 in groups 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The p-value was 0.7031 implying no significant difference.

Conclusion: The study has shown that hourly changes in exposure to cement dust don’t have an impact on the studied inflammatory markers among cement workers in Port Harcourt.