A case-control study, nested in a cohort study, investigated the association between genotoxic effects and hepatic enzymes alterations among workers in a petroleum refinery, Northeast Brazil. Ten cases of hepatic enzymes alterations - gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) - representing all incident cases occurring in the refinery during 2002, were examined. Ten workers without GGT and ALT alterations were selected as controls. The effects of smoking, sex, age and coffee consumption were controlled. The genotoxic effects were evaluated by the sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and by the chromosomal aberrations (CA) techniques. Mean SCE per cell (3.92 ± 1.04 versus 4.25 ± 1.47) and CA per cell (8.85 ± 3.4 versus 9.1 ± 3.7) did not differ significantly between cases and controls respectively.
Occupational exposure; Petroleum refinery; Sister chromatid exchanges (SCE); Chromosome aberrations (CA); Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT); Alanine aminotransferase (ALT)
