Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene and malondialdehyde in male workers in Chinese restaurants

OBJECTIVES: To assess internal dose and oxidative stress in male restaurant workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from cooking oil fumes (COFs) in Chinese restaurants. METHODS: The study participants included 288 male restaurant workers (171 kitchen and 117 service staff) in Chinese restaurants in Taiwan. Airborne particulate PAHs were measured over 12 h on each of two consecutive work days and then identified using high performance liquid chromatography. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) measurements were used to indicate COF exposure, and urinary malondialdehyde (MDA) was adopted as an oxidative stress marker. Multiple regression models were used to assess the relationship between MDA and 1-OHP levels after adjusting for key personal covariates. RESULTS: Summed particulate PAH levels in kitchens (median 23.9 ng/m(3)) were significantly higher than those in dining areas (median 4.9 ng/m(3)). For non-smoking kitchen staff, mean MDA and 1-OHP levels were 344.2 (SD 243.7) and 6.0 (SD 8.0) μmol/mol creatinine, respectively. These levels were significantly higher than those for non-smoking service staff, which were 244.2 (SD 164.4) and 2.4 (SD 4.3) μmol/mol creatinine, respectively. Urinary 1-OHP levels were significantly associated with work in kitchens (p<0.05). Furthermore, urinary MDA levels were significantly associated with urinary 1-OHP levels (p<0.001) and working hours per day (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that urinary 1-OHP and MDA levels reflect occupational exposure to PAHs from COFs and oxidative stress in workers in Chinese restaurants.