Alteration in Leukocyte Subsets and Expressions of FcγR and Complement Receptors among Female Ragpickers in Eastern India.

Background: There are a million ragpickers in India who gather and trade recyclable municipal solid wastes materials for a living. The objective of this study was to examine whether their occupation adversely affects their immunity.

Methods: Seventy-four women ragpickers (median age, 30 years) and 65 age-matched control housemaids were enrolled.

Increased risk of cardiovascular disease in premenopausal female ragpickers of Eastern India: involvement of inflammation, oxidative stress, and platelet hyperactivity.

Millions of poor people in the developing world still thrive on ragpicking. In the present study, we have examined whether ragpicking is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. For this, we have enrolled 112 premenopausal female ragpickers (median age 30 years) and 98 age-matched housemaids as control from Kolkata, Eastern India.

Higher AgNOR Expression in Metaplastic and Dysplastic Airway Epithelial Cells Predicts the Risk of Developing Lung Cancer in Women Chronically Exposed to Biomass Smoke.

We evaluated AgNOR expression in airway epithelial cells (AECs) as a risk factor of lung carcinogenesis in 228 nonsmoking women exposed to biomass fuel (BMF). A total of 185 age-matched women who cooked with cleaner fuel (liquefied petroleum gas [LPG]) were enrolled as study controls. Compared with controls, Papanicolaou-stained sputum samples showed 4 and 8 times higher prevalence of metaplasia and dysplasia, respectively, in AECs of BMF users.

Respiratory symptoms, lung function decrement and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in pre-menopausal Indian women exposed to biomass smoke.

Background: The impact of chronic exposure to smoke from biomass burning on respiratory health has been examined.

Methods: Six-hundred and eighty-one non-smoking women (median age 35 years) from eastern India who cook exclusively with biomass (wood, dung and crop residues) and 438 age-matched women from similar neighborhood who cook with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) were examined. Pulmonary function test was done by spirometry.

Reduction of DNA mismatch repair protein expression in airway epithelial cells of premenopausal women chronically exposed to biomass smoke.

Biomass burning is a major source of indoor air pollution in rural India. This study examined whether chronic inhalation of biomass smoke causes change in the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) pathway in the airway cells. For this, airway cells exfoliated in sputum were collected from 72 premenopausal nonsmoking rural women (median age 34 years) who cooked with biomass (wood, dung, crop residues) and 68 control women who cooked with cleaner fuel liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for the past 5 years or more.

Changes in sputum cytology, airway inflammation and oxidative stress due to chronic inhalation of biomass smoke during cooking in premenopausal rural Indian women.

To perform sputum analysis for verification of pulmonary changes in premenopausal rural Indian women chronically exposed to biomass smoke during cooking.Three consecutive morning sputum samples were collected from 196 women (median age 34 years) cooking with biomass and 149 age-matched control women cooking with cleaner fuel liquefied petroleum gas. Smears made on slides were stained with Papanicolaou and Perl's Prussian blue.

Activation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) and risk of lung cancer among rural women in India who cook with biomass fuel.

The impact of indoor air pollution (IAP) from biomass fuel burning on the risk of carcinogenesis in the airways has been investigated in 187 pre-menopausal women (median age 34years) from eastern India who cooked exclusively with biomass and 155 age-matched control women from same locality who cooked with cleaner fuel liquefied petroleum gas. Compared with control, Papanicolau-stained sputum samples showed 3-times higher prevalence of metaplasia and 7-times higher prevalence of dysplasia in airway epithelial cell (AEC) of biomass users. Immunocytochemistry showed up-regulation of phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt(ser473) and p-Akt(thr308)) proteins in AEC of biomass users, especially in metaplastic and dysplastic cells.

Chronic inhalation of biomass smoke is associated with DNA damage in airway cells: involvement of particulate pollutants and benzene.

This study examined whether indoor air pollution from biomass fuel burning induces DNA damage in airway cells. For this, sputum cells were collected from 56 premenopausal rural women who cooked with biomass (wood, dung, crop residues) and 49 age-matched controls who cooked with cleaner liquefied petroleum gas. The levels of particulate matters with diameters of less than 10 and 2.

Chronic exposures to cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides adversely affect respiratory health of agricultural workers in India.

Objective: The impact of long term exposure to cholinesterase (ChE)-inhibiting organophosphate (OP) and carbamate (C) pesticides on the respiratory health of agricultural workers in India was investigated.

Methods: Three hundred and seventy-six nonsmoking agricultural workers (median age 41 yr) from eastern India who sprayed OP and C pesticides in the field and 348 age- and sex-matched control subjects with non-agricultural occupations from the same locality were enrolled. Prevalence of respiratory symptoms was obtained by questionnaire survey, and pulmonary function tests were carried out by spirometry.

Airway inflammation and upregulation of beta2 Mac-1 integrin expression on circulating leukocytes of female ragpickers in India.

Objectives: Over one million ragpickers collect and sale recyclable materials from municipal solid wastes (MSW) in India for a living. Since MSW contains a host of pathogenic microorganisms, we investigated the occurrence of airway inflammation and its underlying mechanism in 52 non-smoking female ragpickers (median age 29 yr) and 42 control women matched for age, smoking habit and socioeconomic conditions in Kolkata, eastern India.

Methods: Spontaneously expectorated sputum were stained using the Papanicolau method for cytology, and flow cytometry was used for measurements of surface expression of beta(2) Mac-1 integrin (CD11b/CD18) on leukocytes and P-selectin on platelets.

Plasma catecholamine levels and neurobehavioral problems in Indian firefighters.

Firefighting is a stressful and hazardous job. Persons engaged in firefighting are highly exposed to work-related stress as well as to smoke containing a host of chemicals potentially harmful to human health. In order to elucidate whether firefighting affects neuroendocrine and behavioral responses of firefighters, plasma catecholamine (CA) levels and the prevalence of neurobehavioral symptoms in 62 firefighters (all males, mean age 43 yr) and 52 control subjects matched for age and sex were examined in this study.

Respiratory and general health impairments of workers employed in a municipal solid waste disposal at an open landfill site in Delhi.

The objective of this study was to examine the respiratory and general health of workers employed in a municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal at an open landfill site in India. Ninety-six landfill workers of Okhla landfill site, Delhi, and 90 controls matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic conditions were enrolled. Health data was obtained from questionnaire surveys, clinical examination and laboratory investigations.