Plasma 17-alpha-OH-progesterone in female workers exposed to urban pollutants

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether occupational exposure to urban pollutants could cause alteration in plasma 17-alpha-OH-P levels in female workers. After excluding the subjects with the principal confounding factors, traffic police and controls were matched by age, working life, age of menarche, menstrual cycle day, BMI, drinking habits, habitual consumption of soy and Italian coffee. 68 traffic police and 82 controls (7th day; follicular phase of the ovarian cycle), 37 traffic police and 20 controls (21st day; lutheal phase of the ovarian cycle) were included in the study and matched for the above mentioned variables. In follicular and lutheal phase of ovarian cycle, 17-alpha-OH-P mean levels and the distribution of 17-alpha-OH-P values were significantly higher in traffic police vs. controls. A higher instance of mental health disorders in traffic police vs. controls was found, although the difference was not significant. Considering that the potential confounding effect of extraneous factors was controlled by restricting the study population and by matching traffic police vs. controls on the above mentioned variables, our results suggest that occupational exposure to urban pollutants may alter plasma 17-alpha-OH-P concentrations. 17-alpha-OH-P could be used in an occupational setting as an early biomarker of exposure to urban pollutants, valuable for a group, even before the onset of related pathologies.