Makiko Sasaki

Assessment of DNA Damage in Japanese Nurses Handling Antineoplastic Drugs by the Comet Assay

Assessment of DNA Damage in Japanese Nurses Handling Antineoplastic Drugs by the Comet Assay: Makiko Sasaki, et al. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Akita University School of Medicine—To clarify genotoxic effects of occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs in Japan, we examined DNA damage, assessed by the comet assay, in 121 female nurses and 46 female clerks working at three hospitals in the northeast of Japan. The comet assay is considered to be a sensitive and rapid method for DNA strand break detection in individual cells, and tail length and tail moment are used as the comet parameters. Concerning the basal characteristics, the 46 control subjects had higher rates of smoking and coffee‐drinking habits and lower hemoglobin than the 121 nurses (p<0.05). The log‐transformed tail length in the nurses was significantly longer than that in the control subjects after adjusting for possible covariates such as age and smoking habit (p<0.05). Also, the log‐transformed tail length was significantly longer, in the 57 nurses who had handled antineoplastic drugs in the last six months, than that in the 46 control subjects (p<0.05); but, no significant difference in tail length or tail moment was seen between the two nurse groups with and without experience of handling hazardous drugs (p>0.05). These results suggest that Japanese nurses who have worked at hospitals using antineoplastic drugs may have a potential risk of DNA damage. To minimize this risk in Japan, use of biological safety cabinet and appropriate protective equipments, in addition to staff education and training, should be implemented in the healthcare environment.

Cardiac autonomic imbalance in female nurses with shift work

The pathophysiology underlying the shift work-related cardiovascular disease is still poorly understood. The chronic effects of shift work on cardiac autonomic functions were assessed in 47 hospital nurses working under a rotating three-shift system (shift nurses) and 36 public health nurses without shift work (non-shift nurses). The heart rate variability, %LF and %HF (i.e., proportions of sympathetic and vagal activities, respectively), and LF/HF ratio were calculated from the electrocardiographic RR intervals by using autoregressive spectral analysis, and heart rate-corrected QT interval (QTc and QT index) was also measured. The LF/HF ratio, %LF, and QT index were significantly larger in the shift nurses than in the non-shift nurses; also, the power spectral density of HF (PSD(HF)) was significantly decreased in the shift nurses. There was a significant, inverse correlation between the corrected QT interval and PSD(HF) in the non-shift nurses, but not in the shift nurses. It is suggested that shift work in female nurses may cause a sympathodominant state due to depressed vagal tones. Also, a pathophysiology of shift work-related cardiovascular disease, derived from the present and previous findings, may be characterized by the attenuation of the inverse association between the corrected QT interval and vagal activity observed in non-shift workers.

ASSOCIATION OF ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE 2 AND ALDEHYDE DEHYDROGENASE 2 GENOTYPES WITH FASTING PLASMA GLUCOSE LEVELS IN JAPANESE MALE AND FEMALE WORKERS

AIMS The objective was to clarify the effect of alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2) and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) genotypes on the diabetic risk in Japanese workers. METHODS At the time of mandatory health checkup, the ADH2 and ALDH2 genotypes, as well as fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels, body mass index (BMI), smoking habit, and weekly alcohol intake, were examined in 492 men and 183 women working at motor vehicle dealerships. RESULTS In using two-way analysis of variance to manipulate ADH2 and ALDH2 genotypes and alcohol intake (>70 g/week for men and >35 g/week for women), the FPG level after the adjustment for age, BMI, smoking habit, and another genotype was significantly higher in the men with ADH2*1/1 genotype than in those with the other genotypes, but there was no significant difference in the FPG level between the men with and without ALDH2*1/1 genotype. In contrast, the women with ALDH2*1/1 genotype had significantly lower FPG levels than those with the other genotypes, but there was no significant difference in the FPG level between the women with and without ADH2*1/1 genotype. Also, a significant interaction between ethanol intake and ALDH2 genotypes was seen only in the women. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that genotypes of ADH2 and ALDH2 can modify the diabetic risk, irrespective of amounts of alcohol consumed. Also, there may be sex differences in the effect of these enzyme genotypes on glucose metabolism.

Effects of a warm hand bath on the blood flow in the shoulder, skin and deep body temperature, autonomic nervous activity, and subjective comfort in healthy women: An experimental cross-over trial: Effects of a warm hand bath

AIM The present study was conducted in order to clarify the effects of a warm hand bath at 40°C for 10 min on the blood flow in the shoulder, skin and deep body temperature, autonomic nervous activity, and subjective comfort in healthy women. METHODS The studys participants were 40 healthy adult women who were randomly assigned to either a structured hand bath first and no hand bath second (Group A) or to no hand bath first and a hand bath second (Group B). The blood flow in the shoulder, skin and deep body temperature, autonomic nervous activity, and subjective comfort then were recorded in all the participants. RESULTS A repeated-measures ANOVA revealed no significant difference in the blood flow in the right shoulder or deep body temperature between groups. The skin temperature of the hands, forearms, and arms was significantly increased, but not of the face and upper back. The skin temperature of the forearms was maintained at 0.5°C-1°C higher for 30 min in the hand bath group, compared with the no hand bath group. The hand bath group had a significantly higher heart rate while bathing and a significantly lower parasympathetic nerve activity level during bathing. No significant difference was seen in the sympathetic activity level between groups. The hand bath group had a significantly higher subjective comfort level. CONCLUSION Hand baths can improve the level of subjective comfort and increase the heart rate and might affect autonomic nervous activity. The skin temperature of the forearms was maintained for 30 min in the hand bath group.