Work Intensity, Low-Grade Inflammation, and Oxidative Status: A Comparison between Office and Slaughterhouse Workers
Table 1
Baseline characteristics of study participants and results of measurements after an 8-hour work shift.
Office workers ()
Heavy workers ()
Mean (95% confidence interval)
Age, yrs
38.2 (35.2–41.1)
40.8 (38.5–43.0)
0.175
Body mass index, kg/m2
26.1 (24.5–27.6)
28.3 (27.1–29.5)
0.026
hsCRP, mg/L
1.0 (0.7–1.5)
1.7 (1.4–2.2)
0.019
IL-6, pg/mL
1.9 (1.6–2.2)
2.0 (1.7–2.2)
0.220
Uric acid, mg/dL
5.3 (4.8–5.7)
5.6 (5.3–5.9)
0.245
Total antioxidant capacity, mmol/L
1.06 (0.91–1.21)
1.41 (1.29–1.53)
<0.001
Total oxidant capacity, mmol/L
0.08 (0.06–0.11)
0.12 (0.10–0.15)
0.032
Oxidative stress index (OSI), %
5.7 (3.5–8.4)
10.4 (8.2–12.8)
0.011
Endogenous peroxidase activity, U/L
7.2 (6.2–8.4)
3.7 (3.3-4.1)
<0.001
Polyphenols, mmol/L
9.9 (9.7–10.1)
9.5 (9.4–9.7)
0.004
Malondialdehyde, μmol/L
0.74 (0.68–0.80)
0.69 (0.65–0.73)
0.144
Myeloperoxidase, μg/L
61.7 (56.4–67.4)
68.3 (63.7–73.2)
0.078
MDA-LDL-IgM, U/L
184 (149–228)
150 (127–177)
0.141
ST2, ng/mL
14.5 (12.3–16.6)
15.3 (13.7–17.0)
0.521
ACTH, pg/mL
12.0 (9.1–16.0)
27.6 (22.2–34.4)
<0.001
Galectin-3, ng/mL
5.9 (5.0–6.9)
4.8 (4.2–5.4)
0.052
BDNF, pg/mL
22880 (16051–32616)
7417 (5651–9735)
<0.001
values from the general linear model with body mass index included as covariate. hsCRP = high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; IL-6 = interleukin-6; OSI = oxidative stress index; ACTH = adrenocorticotropic hormone; ST2 = suppression of tumorigenicity 2; BDNF = brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
