Impact of occupational health hazards on serum markers of bone formation in spray painters of Chennai region in Tamil Nadu

CONTEXT: The association between spray paint exposure and bone remodeling received little attention despite the high usage of spray paints in automobile industries, steel furniture workshops etc. AIM: The present study was aimed at investigating the level of serum markers of bone formation in spray painters. The spray painting subjects were selected from automobile body repair workshops in Chennai region of TamilNadu which constitutes 30% of India's automobile industry. SETTING AND DESIGN: All the study subjects, exposed to spray paint were working in a workshop without standard spraying room and did not wore any aerosol removing respirator. The controls were selected from random population irrespective of occupation. Data relevant to the socioeconomic features and personal history was collected using a questionnaire. The current study included 50 spray painters and 25 control subjects of same age group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined the level of serum calcium, serum phosphorus, serum differentiation markers of bone such as alkaline phosphatase (bone specific) and serum osteocalcin in which these levels were found to be high in serum of spray painters. CONCLUSION: The current study concludes dysregulation in bone remodeling of spray painters exposed to chronic solvents and paint pigments.