Effects on plasmatic androstenedione in female workers exposed to urban stressors

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether occupational exposure to urban stressors can cause alterations on androstenedione plasma levels and related diseases in female traffic police compared to a control group. The research was carried out on an initial sample of 468 female workers (209 traffic police and 259 controls). After excluding the subjects with confounding factors, 192 female subjects: 96 traffic police and 96 controls were included in the study. Traffic police and controls were matched by age, length of service, body mass index, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking habits, habitual consumption of Italian coffee, and habitual intake of soy and liquorice in diet. The results show that the percentage of subjects with fertility and mental health disorders were no different between traffic police and controls. Mean androstenedione values were significantly higher in female traffic police compared to controls. The distribution into classes of androstenedione values in traffic police was statistically significant. The percentage of traffic police with fertility and mental health disorders were not significant compared to controls. Our results suggest that the occupational exposure to urban stressors could alter plasma androstenedione levels in female traffic police. According to our previous research all the hormonal parameters studied, including androstenedione, could be used as early biological markers of chronic exposure to urban stressors, usable in occupational sets.