Effects on androstenedione in male workers exposed to urban stressors

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether occupational exposure to urban stressors could cause alterations in androstenedione plasma levels in male traffic policemen compared to a control group. After excluding the principal confounding factors, traffic policemen were matched with controls by age, working life, body mass index (BMI), drinking habit, and habitual soy intake in diet. One hundred and ten traffic policemen and 110 controls were included in the study. In male traffic policemen, mean androstenedione values were significantly lower compared to controls. The distribution of androstenedione values in traffic policemen and in controls was significant. Our results suggest that the occupational exposure to chemical urban stressors, interacting with and adding to the psychosocial ones, could alter androstenedione plasma concentrations in traffic policemen compared to a control group. According to our previous research, androstenedione could be used as an early biological marker, valuable for the group to be employed in occupational settings, even before the onset of the endocrine reproductive health diseases.