Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep;97(7):803-812.
doi: 10.1007/s00420-024-02086-8. Epub 2024 Jul 3.

Longitudinal changes in cardiovascular disease-related proteins in welders

Ulrike Maria Dauter  1 , Anda Roxana Gliga  1 , Maria Albin  1   2 , Karin Broberg  3   4
Affiliations

Longitudinal changes in cardiovascular disease-related proteins in welders

Ulrike Maria Dauter et al. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: Occupational exposure to welding fumes is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease; however, the threshold exposure level is unknown. Here, we aimed to identify changes in proteins associated with cardiovascular disease in relation to exposure to welding fumes.

Methods: Data were obtained from two timepoints six years apart for 338 non-smoking men (171 welders, 167 controls); of these, 174 (78 welders, 96 controls) had measurements available at both timepoints. Exposure was measured as personal respirable dust (adjusted for personal protective equipment), welding years, and cumulative exposure. Proximity extension assays were used to measure a panel of 92 proteins involved in cardiovascular processes in serum samples. Linear mixed models were used for longitudinal analysis. The biological functions and diseases related to the identified proteins were explored using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software.

Results: At both timepoints, the median respirable dust exposure was 0.7 mg/m3 for the welders. Seven proteins were differentially abundant between the welders and controls and increased incrementally with respirable dust: FGF23, CEACAM8, CD40L, PGF, CXCL1, CD84, and HO1. CD84 was significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. These proteins have been linked to disorders of blood pressure, damage related to clogged blood vessels, and chronic inflammatory disorders.

Conclusion: Exposure to mild steel welding fumes below current occupational exposure limits for respirable particles and welding fumes in Europe and the US (1-5 mg/m3) was associated with changes in the abundance of proteins related to cardiovascular disease. Further research should evaluate the utility of these proteins as prospective biomarkers of occupational cardiovascular disease.

Keywords: CVD; Occupational exposure limit; Respirable dust; Welding.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Boxplots (A–C) and scatterplots (D–F) of the serum concentrations of CD84, FGF23, and HO1. A–C show the normalized protein abundance (NPX) between welders (green) and controls (orange) separately for timepoint 1 (left side) and timepoint 2 (right side). Plots D–F show the NPX in relation to respirable dust (mg/m3) divided into timepoint 1 (turquois) and timepoint 2 (gray). The gray shaded area shows the predicted 95% confidence interval
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aggarwal A, Schneider DJ, Terrien EF, Sobel BE, Dauerman HL (2004) Increased coronary arterial release of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and soluble CD40 ligand indicative of inflammation associated with culprit coronary plaques. Am J Cardiol 93:6–9. 10.1016/j.amjcard.2003.09.003 - PubMed
    1. Alhamdow A, Lindh C, Albin M, Gustavsson P, Tinnerberg H, Broberg K (2019) Cardiovascular disease-related serum proteins in workers occupationally exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Toxicol Sci 171:235–246. 10.1093/TOXSCI/KFZ142 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Altemose B, Robson MG, Kipen HM, Ohman Strickland P, Meng Q, Gong J, Huang W, Wang G, Rich DQ, Zhu T, Zhang J (2017) Association of air pollution sources and aldehydes with biomarkers of blood coagulation, pulmonary inflammation, and systemic oxidative stress. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 27:244–250. 10.1038/jes.2016.38 - PubMed
    1. Antonini JM, Lewis AB, Roberts JR, Whaley DA (2003) Pulmonary effects of welding fumes: Review of worker and experimental animal studies. Am J Ind Med 43:350–360. 10.1002/AJIM.10194 - PubMed
    1. Antonini JM, Afshari AA, Stone S, Chen B, Schwegler-Berry D, Fletcher WG, Goldsmith WT, Vandestouwe KH, Mckinney W, Castranova V, Frazer DG (2006) Design, construction, and animals. J Occup Environ Hyg 3:194–203. 10.1080/15459620600584352 - PubMed

MeSH terms