Roberto Bergonzi

Exhaled breath condensate as a suitable matrix to assess lung dose and effects in workers exposed to cobalt and tungsten.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether exhaled breath condensate (EBC), a fluid formed by cooling exhaled air, can be used as a suitable matrix to assess target tissue dose and effects of inhaled cobalt and tungsten, using EBC malondialdehyde (MDA) as a biomarker of pulmonary oxidative stress. Thirty-three workers exposed to Co and W in workshops producing either diamond tools or hard-metal mechanical parts participated in this study. Two EBC and urinary samples were collected: one before and one at the end of the work shift. Controls were selected among nonexposed workers. Co, W, and MDA in EBC were analyzed with analytical methods based on mass spectrometric reference techniques. In the EBC from controls, Co was detectable at ultratrace levels, whereas W was undetectable. In exposed workers, EBC Co ranged from a few to several hundred nanomoles per liter. Corresponding W levels ranged from undetectable to several tens of nanomoles per liter. A parallel trend was observed for much higher urinary levels. Both Co and W in biological media were higher at the end of the work shift in comparison with preexposure values. In EBC, MDA levels were increased depending on Co concentration and were enhanced by coexposure to W. Such a correlation between EBC MDA and both Co and W levels was not observed with urinary concentration of either element. These results suggest the potential usefulness of EBC to complete and integrate biomonitoring and health surveillance procedures among workers exposed to mixtures of transition elements and hard metals.

Polychlorinated biphenyls and thyroid hormone serum concentrations among people living in a highly polluted area: a cross-sectional population-based study.

BACKGROUND Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may interact with several thyroid functions. Severe environmental pollution by PCBs has been observed in Brescia, Italy, due to the presence of a factory that produced these compounds until 1984. OBJECTIVES We aimed to investigate the correlation between serum levels of total PCBs and PCB 153 and thyroid hormone serum levels in adults in a cross-sectional population-based study. METHODS A total of 527 subjects were enrolled; they were face-to-face interviewed about their history of thyroid disease and provided a blood sample under fasting conditions. The serum levels of free and total triiodothyronine (FT3 and TT3), thyroxine (FT4 and TT4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), anti-thyroperoxidase (anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-TGA), and lipid-adjusted total PCBs and PCB 153 were determined. RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference in total PCB and PCB 153 concentrations in subjects with and without thyroid disease. Inverse, weak, statistically significant correlations were found between total PCBs and FT3 (Spearmans r=-0.09) and between total PCBs and PCB 153 and TSH (Spearmans r=-0.16 and -0.12, respectively). However, multiple regression analysis with FT3 and TSH serum levels as dependent variables and total PCBs and PCB 153 serum levels as predictors, including age, gender and BMI, showed a positive, rather than negative, association of PCBs and PCB 153 with FT3 and no association with TSH. CONCLUSIONS This study does not support the hypothesis that relatively high PCB environmental exposure can determine substantial alterations in thyroid function among adult people.

Evaluation of different methods to determine total serum lipids for normalization of circulating organochlorine compounds

ObjectivesSerum levels of persistent organochlorine compounds may be predictive of their body burden, if adjusted by total serum lipids. Their value may be predicted by three different formulae, requiring only values of serum cholesterol and triglycerides. The study was aimed at: (i) evaluating the validity of these formulae; (ii) evaluating the influence of different estimates on serum levels of lipid adjusted persistent organochlorine compounds.MethodsWe determined the levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids by enzymatic assays on serum samples from 121 subjects living in a polluted area of Northern Italy. On the same samples and on an additional set from 69 pregnant women of the same area, we determined also polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorobenzene and p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene. In women, analytes were determined also on adipose tissue samples.ResultsFormulae provided results comparable to those obtained as sum of cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids. In women, we found highly significant relationships among lipid adjusted pollutant levels in serum and adipose tissue, independently from the used formula.ConclusionsFormulae allow a valid adjustment of organochlorine compounds in serum. The algorithm proposed by Phillips et al. provides some slight advantage over the others, in terms of simplicity of use.

Polychlorinated biphenyls in serum, liver and adipose tissue of subjects with hepatocellular carcinoma living in a highly polluted area.

Brescia (North Italy) is located in a highly industrialized area with diffuse environmental pollution by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and with a high incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to investigate the concentration of PCBs congeners in serum, liver and adipose tissue of patients with HCC living in this area. We enrolled prospectively 101 HCC incident cases. Lipid-adjusted PCBs concentration of single congeners and total PCBs concentration, computed as the sum of 24 PCBs congeners, were measured in the serum of all subjects and in the liver and abdominal fat of 59 HCC cases undergoing surgery. A high correlation was found between PCBs serum and liver (Spearman r=0.79), serum and fat (r=0.91), and liver and fat (r=0.75) concentrations. Serum PCBs concentration in HCC patients did not vary according to demographical, clinical or epidemiological variables, apart from age, as PCBs concentration increased linearly with the subjects age. This study confirms that serum lipid-adjusted PCBs concentration is a valid measure of PCBs body storage and is highly correlated with PCBs concentration detected in other biological samples.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Glycaemia and Diabetes in a Population Living in a Highly Polychlorinated Biphenyls-Polluted Area in Northern Italy: a Cross-sectional and Cohort Study.

Conflicts of interests: the authors declare no potential conflict of interests. Background Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found to be associated with diabetes in some, but not all, studies performed so far. The aim of this study was to assess the association between PCB serum levels and glycaemia and diabetes in people living in Brescia, a highly industrialised PCB-polluted town in Northern Italy. Design and Methods 527 subjects were enrolled in a cross-sectional population-based study: they were interviewed face-to-face in 2003 and also provided a blood sample under fasting conditions. The concentration of 24 PCB congeners was determined using gas-chromatography (GC/MS). Subsequently, all subjects were included in a follow-up (cohort) study. According to the Local Health Authority health-care database, subjects were considered to be diabetic if they had diabetes at interview time (prevalent cases) or during a 7-year follow-up (incident cases). Results A total of 53 subjects (10.0%) were diabetics: 28 had diabetes at enrolment and other 25 developed the disease subsequently. Diabetes frequency increased according to the serum concentrations of total PCBs and single PCB congeners, but no association was found when estimates were adjusted for education, body mass index, age and gender by logistic regression analysis. Accordingly, glycaemia increased with PCB serum levels, but no association was observed when multiple regression analysis, including confounding factors, was performed. Conclusions This study does not support the hypothesis that PCB environmental exposure is strictly associated with diabetes or glycaemia.