Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation, Urinary Microalbumin and Some Haematological Variables among Artisans in Jos Metropolis

Prolonged exposure to some materials used by artisans has been reported to be harmful to health. However, there is a lack of information regarding their associations with functional biomarkers among artisans in Jos. To establish this, we collected urine and blood samples from 400 artisans and 200 age-matched non-artisan control group. Urinary microalbumin, heavy metals and some haematological variables were analysed using standard methods and haematology autoanalyser (MYTHIC 22 CT) respectively. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and student t-test was used to compare mean values between the control and study groups. We reported significant differences in average values of MCV, per cent monocytes & neutrophils, total WBC counts, ESR and platelet counts among welders, petrol hawkers, and battery repairers compared to the control group. Significantly higher PTT and PTTK average values were observed among test subjects (24.23±2.45, 42.45±9.79) when compared to the control group (18.97±3.26, 35.05±15.61) respectively (p=0.00). Also, urinary microalbumin levels were significantly higher (P<0.05) among petrol hawkers (16.11±15.63), car painters (13.10±5.00) compared to the control (5.10±4.97). Our study revealed significantly (P<0.05) high levels of WBC, Monocytes, Neutrophils, ESR, Platelets, and Microalbumin among welders, car spray workers, battery repairers and petrol hawkers in Jos when compared to control. Data suggest a high probability of abnormal coagulation and susceptibility to metabolic diseases such as Diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis among others in the test population.

Keywords: Artisans, Haematological variables, Urinary Microalbumin, and Heavy Metals.