Biomedical Research

Gasoline is a solvent and exposure to it has been associated with advanced stages of kidney disease. Workers at traditional automobile repair shops and gasoline stations in Mexico are continuously exposed to gasoline. In the present study, we evaluated the association between exposures to gasoline at the workplace (in “traditional” auto repair shop mechanics and gas station attendants) with early kidney function abnormalities (microalbuminuria/proteinuria). Ninety-nine cases and 130 controls were analyzed. Subjects presenting with high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and acute pathologies related to kidney alterations were excluded. The quantity of excreted protein in urine was determined. A level of albumin in urine of 50 mg/l (Micral-Test) was regarded as microalbuminuria and its presence was considered early renal dysfunction. After adjustment to known risk factors (sex, age, overweight/obesity, smoking, and high cardiovascular risk), exposure to gasoline resulted in a 2.5 increase in the risk for early renal dysfunction (OR: 2.46, 95% CI: 1.1-5.7, p=0.03). In the crude odds ratio analysis, that risk gradually became greater as the years of exposure increased, but after the statistical adjustments with the known risk factors, the level of risk did not increase in relation to the years of exposure. In conclusion, exposure to gasoline in mechanics working at traditional automobile repair shops and in gas station attendants, significantly increased their risk for early renal dysfunction. Preventive measures should be implemented and diagnosis should be opportune to avoid end-stage renal disease.

Author(s): Bertha A. Olmedo-Buenrostro, Jose G. Ortega-Ortiz, Jose Guzman-Esquivel, Osiris G. Delgado-Enciso, Gabriel Ceja-Espiritu, Brenda A. Paz-Michel, Iram P. Rodriguez-Sanchez, Margarita L. Martinez-Fierro, Luz M. Baltazar-Rodriguez, Valery Melnikov, Alejandrina Rodriguez-Hernandez, Ivan Delgado-Enciso
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