IMMUNOLOGICAL AND RENAL MARKERS AMONG PHOTOGRAVURE PRINTERS EXPOSED TO TOLUENE

Objectives This study assessed immunologic and early renal effects of chronic toluene exposure. Methods In a longitudinal study of 92 printe rs and 74 referents, 145 subjects had pre- and poststudy samples of bl ood and urine taken for the following measurements: immunoglobulin E ( IgE), antiglomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) and antilaminin (ant i-LAM) antibodies in blood; creatinine and beta(2-)microglobulin in bl ood and urine; and microalbumin, N-acetyl-b-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) an d alanine-aminopeptidase in urine. Creatinine clearance was calculated according to the Cockroft-Gault formula. Eight-hour personal air samp les were collected twice to assess present exposure to toluene. A job- exposure matrix was developed to estimate past cumulative exposure. In formation about potential confounders was recorded by questionnaire. M ultiple regression analysis was performed to study dose-effect relatio ns adjusted for age and smoking. Results No subject was positive for a nti-GEM antibodies, and only 12 were positive for anti-LAM. No relatio n was observed between the markers studied and present exposure to tol uene except that creatinine clearance was higher among the exposed sub jects than among the referents. A dose-response relation was observed between cumulative toluene exposure and both IgE and NAG excretion. No interaction was observed between hypertension and exposure, but the r elationship with NAG did not persist when subjects with hypertension w ere excluded. Past or present exposure did not alter the 2-year trend of any marker studied. Conclusions According to the results of this st udy, toluene at 50 ppm is not related to detectable renal dysfunction. The increased IgE levels associated with present and past exposure re quire further investigation.