The Effect Of Aflatoxin B1 Occupational Airway Exposure On The Liver Funtion

Objective:To investigate the effect of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) airway exposure on the liver function.Method:.There were 384 serum samples collected from populations working in different specific air environment regions. They were divided into two groups according to the working environment. Workers in the high aflatoxin dust environment were defined as study group (A group), including 181 subjects. Workers in other working environment were classified as control group (B group). Blood samples were collected to detect the levels of AFB1 albumin adducts (AFB1-Alb) and liver function in the study participants. The serum AFB1-Alb concentration and liver function indexes in the study group were compared to the control group. The correlation between serum AFB1-Alb concentration and liver function indexes was analyzed.Results:Tere was 102 serum AFB1-Alb positive in the A group, with mean concentration of 38.51 ± 44.80 pg/ml albumin, while 12 in the B group, with mean concentration of 15.58 ± 6.42 pg/ml albumin. The difference was statistically significant (P< 0.05). The concentrations of ALT, AST, TP, ALB and GLB in the A group were (43.69 ± 36.22) u/L, (36.73 ± 26.55) u/L, (65.80 ± 6.17)g/L, (43.00 ± 3.19) g/L, (22.05 ± 6.30)g/L respectively, and (23.70 ± 7.85) u/L, (21.51 ± 6.01) u/L, (67.90 ± 6.85)g/L, (45.12 ± 4.58) g/L, (26.10 ± 5.42)g/L in the B group. The differences of ALT and AST were statistically significant (P < 0.05) while there was no significant difference in TP, ALB and GLB when the A group was compared to the B group. The spearman correlation analysis implicated that the increase of serum AFB1-Alb concentration was positively related to the changes of titers of ALT and AST (P< 0.05).Conclusion:The serum AFB1-Alb concentration of populations in the high aflatoxin dust environment was higher than that in other populations and it may cause the abnormality of liver function to some extent. It is worth to further investigate the relationship between AFB1 airway exposure and the development of HCC. Workers in the high AFB1 dust environment should take essential protective actions.