Assessment of hematological parameters among gas- station workers exposed to gasoline at in hossana town, south west Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Petrol station workers are chronically exposed to petroleum derivatives primarily through inhalation of the volatile fraction during vehicle refueling. The adverse health effects of gasoline exposure may be primarily related to impairment of the hematopoietic system with bone marrow depression. On top of controversial association between hematological parameters and gasoline exposures, there is paucity of data regarding the topic in the study area. Objective: To assess the hematological parameters among gasoline exposed workers at gas station as compared to non-exposed controls in Hossana Town, South West Ethiopia from May 1 to June 15, 2020. Method: Institutional based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted by involving 60 individuals working in gasoline stations and 120 non-exposed age and gender matched individuals. Socio-demographic, occupational and other related data of study participants were collected by structured questionnaire via face to face interview. Four milliter of venous blood sample was collected to perform hematological analysis and to examine peripheral blood morphology. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20. Independent sample T-test, MannWhitney U tests, one way ANOVA and Correlation Coefficient analysis were performed. Pvalue<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: A total of 180 subjects (gasoline exposed, n=60 and non-exposed, n=120) were included. The majority of the workers 66.7% did not use any kind of personal protective equipment. The mean ±SD value of gasoline exposed subjects had significant reduction in RBC (× 106 per μl) count (4.87±0.62 versus 5.08±0.41, P=0.007) and the median (IQR) of Hgb (g/dl) level (14.38(1.7) versus15.38 (1.3), p=0.001) compared with the non-exposed subjects. On the other hand, significant increases were found in median (IQR) value of absolute eosinophil count (0.3(0.57) versus 0.2(0.3), p=0.01) exposed subjects compared with the non-exposed. The peripheral blood film examination reveals 81.7% Normocytic normochromic picture and 11.7% macrocytosis in exposed group. Conclusion: Long-term exposure to gasoline at gas station has deleterious effect on the RBC, Hgb and Hct as compared to non-exposed subject. Therefore, protective measure should be implemented by the concerned body to minimize exposures to gasoline