Abstract:
Objective To explore the effects of ionizing radiation and other factors on hepatic function of radiation professionals.
Methods A total of 874 radiation professionals participating in the 2010-2011 annual physical examination of Guangxi were selected as the exposure group. Another 300 healthy individuals without exposure to radiation from the same physical examination were elected as the control group. Liver function indices of the two groups were detected. Single factor analysis and multi-factor analysis were adopted to analyze the data.
Results The differences in the abnormal rates of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), cholinesterase (CHE), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (TBIL), and direct bilirubin (DBIL) between the control group and the exposure group were of statistical significance (P< 0.05). The abnormal rates of DBIL, GGT, ALB in the radiation professionals of different service length were statistically different (P< 0.01). The levels of glutamyl transferase (GGT), ALT, AST, ALP, TBIL, and CHE for male radiation professionals were all higher than those for the female in the same group (P< 0.001). The level of DBIL in smokers was higher than in nonsmokers (P< 0.01). The DBIL level decreased with the increase of age (P< 0.01); in contrast, the CHE level increased with the increase of age (P< 0.01). The GGT level was positively correlated with radiation service length (r=0.109, P=0.001), and the TP level was negatively correlated with radiation service length (r=-0.128, P=0.000).
Conclusion Abnormal hepatic function is found in radiation professionals with high possibility, especially those with long-term radiation exposure history, and it is closely related to radiation service length. Smoking, gender, and age also have a certain effects on liver function.