Evaluation of some serum biochemical parameters of humans exposed to burnt tire emissions

Abstract

Evaluation of some serum biochemical parameters of humans who were exposed to burnt tire emissions (singeing process) was carried out in this study. Eighty (80) healthy adult males were recruited for the study after their consents were sought. Fifty-five (55) of them served as the experimental subjects while twenty-five (25) of them served as the control subjects. The experimental subjects were some singers at Trans Amadi (Oginigba), Port Harcourt abattoir. The control subjects were some Port Harcourt residents that are not occupationally exposed to singeing. Venous blood samples were collected from both the experimental and control groups; and their sera were screened to determine the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), total serum protein (TSP) and total globulins (TG). The results of the screening showed that the serum levels of prostate-specific antigen and carcinoembryonic antigen of both the experimental and the control subjects were within normal range. However, the serum C-reactive protein and alpha-fetoprotein of many experimental subjects were above the normal range. Also, the majority of the experimental and control subjects had total globulins below the normal range and total serum protein that were within the normal range. The mean and standard deviation of the screened parameters for the experimental subjects were 1.17±0.80, 1.52±0.54, 2.42±1.19, 13.20±6.86, 67.27±14.11 and 2.10±1.22 for C-reactive protein, prostate-specific antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen, alpha-fetoprotein, total serum protein and total globulins respectively. For the control subjects, the mean and standard deviation of the screened parameters were 0.26±0.22, 1.10±0.37, 2.81±3.14, 6.51±3.50, 70.34±4.43 and 22.97±5.06 for C-reactive protein, prostate-specific antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen, alpha-fetoprotein, total serum protein and total globulins respectively. In conclusion, the study has demonstrated that alpha-fetoprotein and C-reactive protein are elevated in the serum of the experimental subjects who are occupationally exposed to singeing process.

Keywords: Singeing, abattoir, Prostate-specific antigen, C-reactive protein, Carcinoembryonic antigen