ABSTRACT
Bronze casting in Benin City is renowned for its intricate designs and meticulous craftsmanship, skilled artisans, known as Igun-Eronmwon, meticulously cast bronze sculptures using the ancient lost-wax casting technique. This labor-intensive process which involves creating intricate wax molds and encasing them in clay is done routinely. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of selected inflammatory biomarkers and nutritional profile as indices of occupational health risk in Benin Bronze casters. In this case-control study a total of 100 participants who were consenting male bronze casters with more than 5years working experience in foundry and 100 male non bronze casters as controls, age 18-65years were enrolled into the study. Ethical approval was obtained from the health research ethic committee of the Ministry of Health, Edo State with reference number HM.1208/7467.Approximately 10mls of venous blood was obtained; 5mls of the blood was partly dispensed into plain (anticoagulant-free) specimen bottle to obtain serum and another 5mls was dispensed into EDTA anticoagulant specimen bottle for biochemical analysis. Toxic metals, including Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As), Nickel (Ni), Aluminium (Al), Tin (Sn) and chromium (Cr) with essential metals comprising of Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn) and Copper(Cu) were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma- Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), Vitamins A, C, D and E were analyzed using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Serum calcium, Inorganic phosphate, Total cholesterol, Triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (LDL) was assayed using spectrophotometric method and serum albumin was assayed using colorimetric method. Data were analyzed using the student t-test and Post hoc to locate the significant difference p˂0.05. The results revealed elevated levels of toxic metals (Pb, Hg, As, Al, Cd, Cr, Ni and Sn) among bronze casters when compared with control. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, C-reactive protein and albumin in bronze casters (56.62 ± 1.65; 13.21± 0.53; 4.10 ± 0.10) were significantly higher (p˂0.05) than control (46.98 ± 1.79; 8.52 ± 0.43; 3.29 ± 0.09) respectively. SOD and catalase activities were increased significantly (p˂0.05) in bronze casters (1.79 ± 0.25 mmol/l; 1.82 ± 0.65 miu/l) compared with control (1.73 ± 0.15 mmol/l; 0.31 ± 0.03 miu/l) respectively. Vitamins C, D and E levels were significantly (p<0.05) lower in bronze caster (0.53 ± 0.01 µmol/L; 22.07 ± 0.56 ng/ml and 5.29 ± 0.23 µmol/L) compared to control (1.34 ± 0.05 µmol/L; 39.37 ± 2.85 ng/ml and 8.26 ± 0.44 µmol/L). The levels of serum phosphorus and cholesterol were significantly (p<0.05) elevated in bronze casters (3.16 ±0.13; 216.4 ± 4.61mg/dl) compared to control (2.77 ± 0.09; 141.3 ± 2.93mg/dl). High density lipoprotein level was significantly (p<0.05) lower in bronze casters (44.52 ± 0.52mg/dl) compared to control (47.32 ± 0.47mg/dl). This study presents strong evidence regarding the negative health impacts of exposure to toxic metals and trace elements for bronze casters. It highlights the need for proactive strategies to reduce metal exposure and improve safety protocols in the bronze casting sector.
