The relationship between impaired lung functions and cytokine levels in formaldehyde exposure

Exposure to formaldehyde (FA) causes detrimental effects on respiratory system. Inflammation is one of the mechanisms responsible for these effects. Our aim is to demonstrate the possible effect of formaldehyde on inflammation biomarkers and pulmonary function tests. One hundred ninety-eight male workers in a fiber production factory are included. Eighty two of them were not exposed to FA. Thirty nine workers were exposed to FA for 4 h or more in a work shift and 77 workers were exposed less than 4 h. Statistically significant differences were found for FA, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 levels and pulmonary function test parameters (FEV1 and FVC) between no exposure and exposure groups. The results revealed a correlation between decrement in pulmonary function tests and an increase in cytokine levels concordant with the duration of FA exposure. The results may emphasize that FA exposure shows its effect on pulmonary system via inflammatory pathways.