Long-term exposure to diesel engine exhaust induced lung function decline in a cross sectional study

To clarify the effects of lung function following exposure to diesel engine exhaust (DEE), we recruited 137 diesel engine testing workers exposed to DEE and 127 non-DEE-exposed workers as study subjects. We performed lung function tests and measured cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) cytome index and levels of urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) metabolites. There was a significant decrease of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁), ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 second to forced vital capacity (FEV₁/ FVC), maximal mid expiratory flow curve (MMF), forced expiratory flow at 50% of FVC (FEF_50%), and forced expiratory flow at 75% of FVC (FEF_75%) in the DEE-exposed workers than non-DEE-exposed workers (all p<0.05). Among all study subjects, the decreases of FEF_75% were associated with the increasing levels of PAHs meta-bolites (p<0.05), and there were negative correlations between FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC, MMF, FEF_50%, and FEF_75% with CBMN cytome index (all p<0.05). Our results show that long-term exposure to DEE can induce lung function decline which shows mainly obstructive changes and influence of small airways function. The decreased lung function is associated with internal dosage of DEE exposure, and accompany with the increasing CBMN cytome index.