Occupational Exposure to Air Pollutants Among Professional Motorcyclists in Brazil Results in Higher Health Risk and Changing in Biochemical and Cardiovascular Parameters

Traffic-related air pollutants are the main responsible for outdoor air pollution in cities. Transport has an essential role in the lives of individuals and societies, closely depending on outdoor workers, which are continuously exposed to ambient air pollution. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine both the levels and the health risk of NO 2 and O 3 exposure in professional drivers and the health effects of this exposure. Professional motorcyclists ( n = 38) and office workers ( n = 50) from Porto Alegre, Brazil, were enrolled in our study from November 2018 to March 2020. Individual exposure to air pollutants was assessed by passive monitoring. Glucose and lipid profile, blood pressure, and heart rate were performed in all subjects. Toxicological risk was estimated based on the potential intake dose. Individual exposure to NO 2 and O 3 , fasting glucose ( p = 0.0013), triglycerides ( p = 0.0022), lipid accumulation product ( p < 0.0001), diastolic blood pressure ( p < 0.0001), heart rate ( p = 0.0008), and risk quotient ( p < 0.0001) were increased in the professional motorcyclists group. HDL levels showed an augmentation in the office workers group ( p = 0.0166). Moreover, NO 2 exposure showed a strong positive correlation with increased fasting glucose serum levels ( p < 0.0001 and r = 0.8673), O 3 exposure showed very strong association with triglycerides levels ( p < 0.0001 and r = 0.9134), and associations between NO 2 and O 3 exposure and diastolic blood pressure were also found ( p < .0001 and r = 0.6397 and p < 0.001 and r = 0.5946, respectively). Our results suggest that professional motorcyclists are at high risk to develop and/or worsening diseases due to long-term air pollution exposure.