RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Chronic low level trimethyltin exposure and the risk of developing nephrolithiasis
JF Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JO Occup Environ Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 561
OP 567
DO 10.1136/oemed-2012-101261
VO 70
IS 8
A1 Xiaojiang Tang
A1 Nanchun Li
A1 Lisha Kang
A1 Amber M Dubois
A1 Zhihong Gong
A1 Banghua Wu
A1 Guanchao Lai
A1 Aichu Yang
A1 Xiaoling Ruan
A1 Hongbin Gao
A1 Guanghua Zhu
A1 Yichen Ge
A1 Jinxin Zhang
A1 Zhongning Lin
A1 James R Olson
A1 Xuefeng Ren
YR 2013
UL http://oem.bmj.com/content/70/8/561.abstract
AB Objectives Nephrolithiasis (kidney stones) is a common disease with the prevalence that is increasing globally. We previously found that trimethyltin (TMT), a by-product of plastic stabilisers, can inhibit the H+/K+ ATPase activity in renal intercalated cells and alter urinary pH, which is a known risk factor for nephrolithiasis. In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis to evaluate the impact of chronic low level occupational TMT exposure on nephrolithiasis. Methods This study included 216 healthy workers with TMT exposure and 119 workers as controls with no TMT exposure. All study participants were administered a questionnaire and underwent a routine clinical examination including an ultrasonographic screening for kidney stones. Exposures were assessed by measuring TMT concentrations in personal air samples, blood and urine. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the ORs and 95% CIs for the risk of kidney stones. Results TMT exposed workers had a higher prevalence of kidney stones (18.06%) in comparison with control workers (5.88%). High TMT concentrations in personal air samples, blood and urines were positively associated with increased prevalence of kidney stones in workers exposed to TMT compared with controls workers (p-trend values=0.005, 0.008 and 0.002, respectively). The length of employment in plants with elevated TMT levels (duration of the exposure) was significantly associated with the increased prevalence of kidney stones (p trend=0.001). The ORs were 2.66 for <3 years, 3.73 for 3–<10 years and 7.89 for 10+ years of employment compared with control workers. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate that occupational exposure to TMT is a potential risk factor for nephrolithiasis.