DNA damage in leukocytes and buccal and nasal epithelial cells of individuals exposed to air pollution in Mexico City

DNA damage in outdoor workers occupationally exposed to environmental air pollutants

“…This level of cigarette consumption is not enough for considering them as smokers and probably explains why we did not find an association between DNA damage and cigarette consumption in this population. 15 On average, the indoor workers in México City and Puebla reported being outdoors from 3.9 to 4 hours per day, while the outdoor workers stayed outside from 11.9 to 14.2 hours per day. Twenty one workers exercised outdoors at least 1 hour during the week before the study: eight outdoor and seven indoor workers in México City, and three outdoor and three indoor workers in Puebla.…”

“…Increased DNA damage in whole blood, nasal, buccal, and tear duct epithelial cells has been observed in people living and/or working in the areas of México City where O 3 levels are elevated. [14][15][16] These previous studies lacked information on actual or estimated personal exposures to the air contaminants of interest, so qualitative surrogates of exposure (for example, area of the city) or ambient air concentrations were used instead. In addition, air contaminants other than the criteria air pollutants were not considered.…”

Adverse Effect of Air Pollution on Odor Perception

“…However, evidence of notable negative effects on the tissue of the nasal cavity (e.g. Calderón-Garcidueñas et al, 1996Valverde et al, 1997) suggests that deficits in perception are mainly due to damage in the periphery of the system. Consistent with this we repeatedly found that performance on odor identification tests was equally good for subjects from Mexico City and the control population from Tlaxcala.…”

Atmospheric pollution in Kosovo is associated with increased DNA damage in the human population

“…After lysis, slides were transferred to a horizontal electrophoresis areas. Valverde et al [23] reported higher levels of damage in leukocytes and nasal epithelial cells from residents of south Mexico City compared with the north (but no difference for buccal epithelial cells). In tear duct cells, too, damage was higher (by about a third) when collected in the south of the city (with high levels of ozone) than in the north (with elevated levels of hydrocarbons in the air) [16].…”