Monitoring Air Pollution and The Health-Related Biomarkers: Lessons from HUMNap

Exposure to outdoor air pollution is related to severe health effects, especially in urban areas, due to higher concentrations of pollutants caused by urban agglomeration, traffic, and industrial activities. Additionally, the emission of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) compounds becomes higher, mainly due to intensive industrialization and urbanization. Hence, we aimed to investigate possible effects of air pollution and BTEX exposure on DNA damage detected by the alkaline comet assay and micronucleus assay on human buccal and peripheral blood cells. The first part of the study was conducted during the colder period of the year 2021 and the follow up part during the warmer period of the year 2022. It involved 60 healthy volunteers aged 18-55 years with BMI