PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Eelco Kuijpers AU - Anjoeka Pronk AU - Robert Kleemann AU - Jelle Vlaanderen AU - Qing Lan AU - Nathaniel Rothman AU - Debra Silverman AU - Peter Hoet AU - Lode Godderis AU - Roel Vermeulen TI - Cardiovascular effects among workers exposed to multiwalled carbon nanotubes AID - 10.1136/oemed-2017-104796 DP - 2018 Feb 10 TA - Occupational and Environmental Medicine PG - oemed-2017-104796 4099 - http://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2018/02/09/oemed-2017-104796.short 4100 - http://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2018/02/09/oemed-2017-104796.full AB - Objectives The increase in production of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) has led to growing concerns about health risks. In this study, we assessed the association between occupational exposure to MWCNTs and cardiovascular biomarkers.Methods A cross-sectional study was performed among 22 workers of a company commercially producing MWCNTs (subdivided into lab personnel with low or high exposure and operators), and a gender and age-matched unexposed population (n=42). Exposure to MWCNTs and 12 cardiovascular markers were measured in participants’ blood (phase I). In a subpopulation of 13 exposed workers and six unexposed workers, these measures were repeated after 5 months (phase II). We analysed associations between MWCNT exposure and biomarkers of cardiovascular risk, adjusted for age, body mass index, sex and smoking.Results We observed an upward trend in the concentration of endothelial damage marker intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), with increasing exposure to MWCNTs in both phases. The operator category showed significantly elevated ICAM-1 geometric mean ratios (GMRs) compared with the controls (phase I: GMR=1.40, P=1.30E-3; phase II: GMR=1.37, P=0.03). The trends were significant both across worker categories (phase I: P=1.50E-3; phase II: P=0.01) and across measured GM MWCNT concentrations (phase I: P=3.00E-3; phase II: P=0.01). No consistent significant associations were found for the other cardiovascular markers.Conclusion The associations between MWCNT exposure and ICAM-1 indicate endothelial activation and an increased inflammatory state in workers with MWCNT exposure.