Biochemical Changes among Workers Occupationally Exposed to Vibration

With the increasing interaction between workers and mechanical tools, vibration at critical frequencies and acceleration has become an important source of injury. Exposure to occupational vibration has its adverse effects on musculoskeletal, nervous and cardiovascular systems. Certain biochemical changes may occur. Some psychological and physiological disorders were observed. The present study aimed to study biochemical changes among workers occupationally exposed to vibration. The study included a total number of 165 workers (104 exposed to vibration and 61 as a comparison group). Exposed workers were selected from Mousahama EI-Behera, Zahran and Lecico companies in Alexandria. They were exposed to Whole - Body Vibration (WBV) (n=77) or Hand - Arm Vibration (HAV) (n=27). Non-exposed workers (n=61) were selected from the same companies. Biochemical changes including hematological changes, coagulation profile, lipid profile, liver and cardiac enzymes, some of trace elements and urinary catecholamine were studied among exposed and control subjects. Significant changes in the levels of tested biochemical parameters were observed among workers exposed to WBV, HAV and control subjects. It can be concluded that workers exposed to occupational vibrations may develop certain occupational diseases, that might be related to the vibration itself.