EXPOSURE TO LOW DOSE BENZENE IN OUTDOOR WORKERS AND EFFECTS ON PLASMA PROLACTIN LEVELS

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to examine if occupational exposure to low dose benzene had effects on plasma prolactin levels in outdoor workers of a big city. METHODS: From a population of 1594 workers, we studied a group of 87 subjects. Each worker underwent blood sampling for the assessment of the blood benzene levels and the blood cell counts. The normal distribution of the different variables was tested using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov method. The t-test for two-mode variables (gender, smoke habit and working task) and the ANOVA test for more-than two-mode variables (age and working life) were performed on all subjects. We estimated the Pearson correlation index between the variables in the total sample and the subgroups divided according to gender, the smoking habit, and working task. RESULTS: The study did not detect significant correlations between blood benzene levels and plasma prolactin levels in outdoor workers. CONCLUSIONS: This study is to be considered preliminary, so we will make further studies by extending the case.