使用热沥青(hot asphalt )的屋顶建筑工和道路建设工暴露在高水平多环芳香烃(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs)之中。根据发表在British Medical Journal Open期刊上的一篇论文，来自美国科罗拉多大学癌症中心的研究人员发现，在换班之后，屋顶建筑工血液含有更高水平的PAH，而且这些高水平PAH与增加的DNA损伤率相关联，从而潜在地与更高风险患上癌症相关联。
研究人员早就知道屋顶建筑工和道路建设工癌症发病率比一般人高，而且屋顶建筑工吸烟喝酒比例和紫外线照射量也比一般人高，因此很难准确地找出导致更高癌症发病率的原因：是更高水平的PAH或者是生活方式和其他风险因子？
论文通信作者和她的同事们研究了来自美国迈阿密戴德县4个工作场所的19名屋顶建筑工。他们分析了这19名研究参与者换班前6小时和换班后6小时的尿液样品，发现在短时间严重暴露在热沥青之中，PAH生物标记物水平升高。总体而言，在没有带上保护手套的那些工人和存在工作相关的皮肤烧伤的那些工人当中，PAH生物标记物水平和氧化性DNA损伤(8-OHdG)是最高的，从而表明PAH通过皮肤吸收而发挥作用。
Serdar和同事们对丹佛大城市区域的屋顶建筑工启动一项更广泛的研究，这项研究将同时研究空气、血液和尿液中的PAHs水平，以及与来自他们的样品中DNA损伤之间的联系。(生物谷：Bioon.com)
本文编译自DNA damage in roofers due to PAH exposure -- possible cancer link
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001318
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Biomarkers of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and DNA damage: a cross-sectional pilot study among roofers in South Florida
Berrin Serdar1,2, David Lee3, Zihong Dou4
Objective The main goal of this pilot study was to assess the technical and logistic feasibility of a future study. The research hypothesis is that occupational exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are associated with increased risk of DNA damage among roofers who work with hot asphalt. Design This is a cross-sectional pilot study. Setting The study included roofers from four different construction sites in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Participants 19 roofers were recruited (six Hispanics and 13 African–Americans, all male), all of whom were eligible (no history of cancer and no history of chronic diseases of kidneys or liver). All participants provided pre-shift samples and 18 provided post-shift samples. Samples of one participant were excluded from the final analyses as they were considered unreliable. Results Levels of urinary PAH metabolites increased during 6 h of work. Linear regression models of post-shift metabolites included their pre-shift levels, post-shift urinary creatinine levels (for models of 1-OHPyr and 9-OHPhe), and skin burn due to contact with hot asphalt (for models of 1-OHPyr and 1-OHNap). Pre-shift levels of urinary 8-OHdG were not associated with any of the variables considered. For post-shift levels of 8-OHdG, however, post-shift 1-OHPyr (95% CI 0.091 to 0.788) and use of protective gloves (95% CI −1.57 to −0.61) during work explained 86.8% of its variation. Overall, highest levels of urinary PAH metabolites and of 8-OHdG were observed among workers who reported having skin burn and who did not use gloves during work. Conclusions Urinary 1-OHPyr is a promising predictor of oxidative DNA damage among roofers. Work-related skin burn and use of protective gloves appear to influence PAH exposure and DNA damage levels in this group, suggesting the importance of dermal absorption.
