1. Serum pneumoproteins: A cross-sectional comparison of firefighters and police
- Author
-
UCL, Burgess, JL, Witten, ML, Nanson, CJ, Hysong, TA, Sherrill, DL, Quan, SF, Gerkin, R, Bernard, AM., UCL, Burgess, JL, Witten, ML, Nanson, CJ, Hysong, TA, Sherrill, DL, Quan, SF, Gerkin, R, and Bernard, AM.
- Abstract
Background Serum pneumoproteins provide a measure of the permeability of the lower respiratory tract, and have shown promise as a biomarker of acute and chronic exposure to respiratory toxicants. Methods To evaluate the effects of chronic occupational smoke exposure, 105 firefighters were compared with 44 police controls in a cross-sectional study using spirometry, diffusing capacity of the lung, serum Clara cell protein (CC16), and serum surfactant-associated protein A (SP-A) measurements. Results There were no significant differences in age, gender, height, spirometry (FVC and FEVI), and diffusing capacity between the two groups. Serum SP-A was lower in firefighters (260.1 +/- 121.2 mug/L) than police (316.0 +/- 151.4 mug/L, P = 0.019). Serum CC16 was also lower in firefighters (8.39 +/- 3.11 mug/L) than police (10.56 +/- 4.20 mug/L, P < 0.001), although this difference lost statistical significance when adjusted for confounders. Conclusions Firefighters have lower serum concentrations of SP-A than do police. Although the clinical significance of this finding is presently unknown, SP-A deserves further study as a biomarker of toxic exposure to the lower respiratory tract. (C) 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
- Published
- 2003