Chromosome aberrations in hospital workers: Evidence from surveillance studies in Italy (1963–1993)

Bonassi, Stefano; Forni, Alessandra; Bigatti, P; Canevarollo, N.; Ferrari, Marcella De; Lando, Cecilia; Padovani, P; Bevegni, Monica; Stella, Mario; Vecchio, Daniela; Puntoni, Riccardo

doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199703)31:3<353::aid-ajim12>3.0.co;2-#

Cited by 41 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…CBMN assay endpoints are not specific to the biological effects of radiation. Bonassi et al [7] suggested that other chromosome-damaging agents might be involved in the increase in chromosome aberrations observed in the workers with uncertain exposure to IR. The working environment in hospitals is complex and includes, besides ionizing radiation, several chemical pollutants that may have genotoxic effects; thus, the possibility that the observed MNs may be partly due to chemical pollutants present in the hospital environment cannot be excluded, even if the difference between those radiation-exposed workers who reported such co-exposure and those who did not was not statistically significant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many cytogenetic studies have been conducted among hospital workers exposed to IR. Bonassi et al [7] observed increased rates of chromosomal aberrations in hospital workers exposed to IR. A low, but statistically significant, increase in the rate of chromosomal aberrations in circulating lymphocytes among hospital workers with thyroid nodules was also observed in workers occupationally exposed to radiation [8].…”

Section: Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A cytogenetic approach to the effects of low levels of ionizing radiation (IR) on the exposed Tunisian hospital workers

Bouraoui¹,

Mougou²,

Drira³

et al. 2013

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

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Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess chromosomal damage in Tunisian hospital workers occupationally exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation (IR). Materials and Methods: The cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay in the peripheral lymphocytes of 67 exposed workers compared to 43 controls matched for gender, age and smoking habits was used. The clastogenic/aneugenic effect of IR was evaluated using the CBMN assay in combination with fluorescence in situ hybridization with human pan-centromeric DNA in all the exposed subjects and controls. Results: The study showed a significant increase of the micronucleus (MN) frequency in the lymphocytes of the exposed workers compared to the control group (13.63±4.9‰ vs. 6.52±4.21‰, p < 0.05). The centromere analysis performed in our study showed that MNs in hospital staff were predominantly centromere negative (72%) and the mean negative labeled micronucleus (C-MN) frequency was significantly higher in the exposed subjects than in the controls (9.04±4.57‰ vs. 1.17±0.77‰). The multivariate regression analysis, taking into account all confounding factors, showed that only the time of exposure to IR had a significant effect on the level of MNs and C-MN. Conclusion: The present study shows that chromosomal damage leading to the formation of micronucleated lymphocytes is more frequent in the hospital workers exposed to IR than in the controls, despite the low levels of exposure. The results of the study confirm the well-known clastogenic properties of ionizing radiation. In regards to health monitoring, detection of early genotoxic effects may allow for the adoption of preventive biological control measures, such as hygienic improvements in the workplace or reduction of hours of occupational exposure.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A cytogenetic approach to the effects of low levels of ionizing radiation (IR) on the exposed Tunisian hospital workers

Bouraoui¹,

Mougou²,

Drira³

et al. 2013

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

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“…In their meta-analysis of cytogenetic studies performed in four Italian laboratories in the period 1965-1993, Bonassi et al (11) reported significantly higher frequencies of chromosome aberrations for various job titles in medical workers exposed to low doses of ionising radiation. Garaj-Vrhovac et al also reported higher rates of chromosome aberrations in workers exposed to ionising radiation but differences between various job titles were not significant (16).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chromosome Aberrations in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes of Croatian Hospital Staff Occupationally Exposed to Low Levels of Ionising Radiation

Kašuba

Rozgaj

Jazbec

2008

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

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Medical staff is an occupational group exposed to different agents suspected to induce genetic damage. Among them ionising radiation is the most studied. Cytogenetic analysis of human chromosomes in peripheral lymphocytes allows direct detection of mutation in somatic cells. This study investigated the cytogenetic effects of low-level ionising x-radiation in 48-hour peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures sampled from 765 hospital staff occupationally exposed to several agents known or suspected to induce chromosome damage and compared them with 200 control subjects. The exposed subjects were divided in eight (8) groups according to their specialities and job titles. The exposed groups manifested an increase in all types of chromosome aberrations. Acentric fragments were the most frequent chromosome-type aberration. Dicentric chromosomes were statistically significant only in urologists/gynaecologists. Age and smoking significantly influenced the incidence of dicentrics in the exposed groups. The frequency of ring chromosomes was low in all exposed groups (range: 0-2), and none were found in the control group. These findings indicate the importance of periodic medical checkups of hospital staff occupationally exposed to low doses of ionising radiation. The purpose is to create an individual cytogenetic register, where changes could evidence individual risks.

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“…It is known that cancer incidence among healthy individuals of a population increases with increased levels of CAs in their circulating lymphocytes (Bonassi et al, 2000(Bonassi et al, , 2004. Because an increased frequency of CAs was found to be a sensitive indicator of exposure to IR (Carrano and Natarajan, 1988), the CAs assay has been applied to monitor workers professionally exposed to low but cumulative levels of IR (Lazutka et al, 1999;Zakeri and Hirobe, 2010;Bonassi et al, 1997;Maffei et al, 2004;Ballardin et al, 2007). Analogously to CAs assay, the SCEs analysis is widely used to assess the genomic damage, because it represents a sensitive method for identifying physical DNA-damaging agents that directly induce DNA strand breaks (Natarajan and Mullenders, 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased frequency of chromosomal aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges in peripheral lymphocytes of radiology technicians chronically exposed to low levels of ionizing radiations

Santovito

Cervella

Delpero

2014

Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology

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Chromosome aberrations (CAs) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) frequencies were estimated in peripheral lymphocytes from 21 radiology technicians, and from 21 nonexposed control subjects. We exclusively considered individuals who neither smoke nor consume drugs or alcohol for a period of at least two years prior to the analysis. Significant differences were found between exposed and controls in terms of SCEs and CAs frequencies. Technicians showed a significant higher number of high-frequency individuals (HFIs) with respect to the control group. Nevertheless, the mean frequency of SCEs observed among technician HFIs did not significantly differ with respect to that observed among control HFIs. Vice versa, the nonHFIs belonging to technicians group showed a statistically higher difference in the SCEs/NSM value with respect to the non-HFIs belonging to control group. Since the differences in the SCEs frequencies between the two groups are due to non-HFIs, our results seem to indicate a general genotoxic effect of the IR, not affected by HFIs. Among technicians, the level of chromosome damage correlated neither with years of radiation exposure nor with the age of the subjects. Vice versa, in the control group, a positive correlation was found between the number of SCEs and age. In both samples the gender status did not influence the frequencies of CAs and SCEs. Our results suggest that chronic long-term exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation could increase the CAs and SCEs frequencies. This study reinforces the relevance of the biomonitoring of hospital workers chronically exposed to ionizing radiation.

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Chromosome aberrations in hospital workers: Evidence from surveillance studies in Italy (1963–1993)

Cited by 41 publications

References 23 publications

A cytogenetic approach to the effects of low levels of ionizing radiation (IR) on the exposed Tunisian hospital workers

A cytogenetic approach to the effects of low levels of ionizing radiation (IR) on the exposed Tunisian hospital workers

Chromosome Aberrations in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes of Croatian Hospital Staff Occupationally Exposed to Low Levels of Ionising Radiation

Increased frequency of chromosomal aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges in peripheral lymphocytes of radiology technicians chronically exposed to low levels of ionizing radiations

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