تقييم مستويات النيكل و تأثيراته السمية الكلوية لدى العاملين في بعض المهن الصناعية في سوريا

Abstract EN

The accumulation of high levels of nickel in workers of industrial professions leads to many toxic effects that cause various damages to the organs of the body, such as the liver and kidneys.

Our present study aims to evaluate the nickel concentrations in serum of 76 people working in industrial professions, which were divided into three groups (the mining workers group included 26 people, the metal welders group included 25 people, and the thermal paint workers group included 25 people) compared to 26 people from the control group, all of whom are male and those working in the Syrian Arab Republic.

The increase in serum nickel levels was correlated to biomarkers of the renal performance through the measurements of urea and creatinine, the comparison between the previous groups was done.

The serum nickel was measured by a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer equipped with a deuterium lamp.

The results of the research showed that workers in the three industrial occupations had similar serum nickel levels (P >0.05) and much higher than the control group (P<0.001).

The serum urea and creatinine concentrations in the three workers groups were close to each other (P >0.05) and much higher than the control group (P<0.001), there were also strong direct correlations between increased urea and creatinine levels and increased levels of nickel in the workers' groups.

For the relationship of urea and nickel the correlation coefficient was (r=0.775) in the mining workers group and (r= 0.917) in the metal welders group and (r = 0.874) in the thermal paint workers group, and for the relationship of creatinine and nickel the correlation coefficient was (r=0.694) in the mining workers group and (r=0.756) in the metal welders group and (r=0.772) in thermal paint workers group.

Industrial workers are exposed to nephrotoxicity through a direct effect on the kidney due to their high nickel concentrations.

The levels of nickel, urea, and creatinine in industrial professions should be monitored periodically and protective measures applied to limit exposure to nickel.