Adiposity affects human response to inhaled organic dust
Yvon Cormier1, Evelyne Israël-Assayag
1Unité de Recherche en Pneumologie, Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie, Hôpital and Université Laval, Quebec, Canada. yvon.cormier@med.ulaval.ca
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
|March 22, 2006
Summary
Obesity influences inflammatory responses to swine confinement buildings (SCB). Chronic SCB exposure may blunt obesity-related inflammation, while acute exposure can potentiate it, affecting workers
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Occupational Medicine
- Immunology
Background:
- Swine confinement buildings (SCB) environments contain organic dusts with endotoxins and microbial products.
- Exposure to these environments can induce inflammatory responses.
- Obesity is associated with sub-clinical inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of obesity on inflammatory responses.
- To assess effects of chronic and acute exposure to SCB environments.
Main Methods:
- Study I: Compared long-term SCB workers (n=36) with a control group (n=35).
- Study II: Acute exposure (5 hr) of healthy volunteers (n=14; 8 overweight, 6 lean) to SCB.
- Measured inflammatory markers: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble adhesion molecules, IL-8, TNF.
Main Results:
- In controls, obesity markers correlated with IL-6 and CRP; these correlations were reduced in SCB workers.
- SCB workers showed correlations between obesity and soluble l-selectin, TNF-alpha, and ICAM-1.
- In acute exposure, overweight volunteers had higher CRP, TNF, and IL-6 levels compared to lean volunteers.
Conclusions:
- Chronic SCB exposure may attenuate obesity-related inflammation in pig farmers.
- Acute SCB exposure appears to enhance obesity-related inflammatory markers in naive individuals.
- Obesity status modifies inflammatory responses to environmental exposures in SCB.
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