Evaluation of the effect of exposure to coal mine dust on the lipid profile and liver function markers

Abstract

Workers exposed to coal mine dust for a long duration up to 20 years may come across health risks associated with heart and liver. A lipid profile is a component of cardiac function assessment. For assessing liver functions, 4 principal enzyme markers associated with liver were considered. Hence lipid profile and enzyme markers for liver function were investigated in this study. 120 normal population and 120 coalmine workers (both male and female) who were exposed to the coal mine for periods ranging from 10 to 20 years were enrolled for this study. Results available in the laboratory data for a master health check on population not exposed to a coal mine and those who have been exposed to 10 to 20 years were made use of for this study. The mean levels of both lipid profile and liver functions tests were found to be highly and significantly different for coal mine dust exposed cases compared to controls (p < 0.0001). Surprisingly, the levels of most of the markers were within the normal limits and thus were clinically insignificant. A significant difference was observed with alkaline phosphatase. This study has demonstrated that biochemical tests should be done at regular intervals of time to monitor the incidence of health disorders associated with principal organs.