Firefighter Soot, Sauna, and Sweat Excretion Pilot Study
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 86
- 试验地点
- 2
- 主要终点
- Change of PAHs present in sweat
研究概览
简要总结
The purpose of the study is to evaluate whether sauna use after active-duty firefighting is effective in reducing exposure to certain harmful chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are found in soot and several types are known to be carcinogens.
This study is a cross-sectional pilot study that will be performed in active-duty firefighters. The firefighters will be subdivided into those who will use a sauna immediately after fighting a fire versus those who will not, the latter of which will serve as a metabolism control group. There will thus be two comparison groups within the study: 1) active-duty firefighters using a sauna after fire suppression (sauna group); 2) active-duty firefighters not using a sauna after fire suppression (metabolism control).
详细描述
Study Rationale
Firefighters are exposed to toxic materials during fire suppression activities and have a higher rate of cancer than the general population, despite a high level of physical fitness. Some studies suggest the use of sauna (infrared or traditional) may increase excretion of harmful and toxic chemicals. Biomonitoring is the measure of chemicals or metabolites present in the human body and is used to evaluate exposure. This proposed study is a biomonitoring pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of use of a sauna at modulating excretion of select classes of chemicals from firefighters.
One of the most well-established occupational hazards to firefighters is soot, the black particulate matter generated during combustion of organic materials. The chemical composition of soot varies based on the original material undergoing combustion, but the primary organic components of soot comprises a class of compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which includes many carcinogens.3 PAH exposure can be measured through the analysis of hydroxy metabolites (OH-PAHs) in urine, the methods of which are well-established and have been conducted in the general population and in firefighters in several studies.4-6 The existing literature evaluating excretion of compounds via sweat is suggestive that some compounds may be more quickly eliminated by inducing sweating, such as via use of the sauna. There is a lack of standardization in sweat biomonitoring and further development of these methods is still needed.15 This proposed pilot study will contribute to the biomonitoring literature particularly in the firefighting population by addressing the gaps in knowledge of whether PAHs are excreted in sweat, and whether use of a sauna can affect rates of PAH excretion in firefighters.
Study Objective(s)
Aim 1. This study aims to demonstrate that sauna use immediately after active-duty firefighting will result in measurable (above the level of detection) PAH biomarkers in sweat.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Non Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Other
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •Willingness to collect urine samples before, during, and/or after work shift
- •Willingness to refrain from eating barbecued or smoked foods during the duration of the study
- •Willingness to use a sauna after active fire suppression and to collect sweat samples at that time
排除标准
- •Declined participation in the study
- •Unwilling or do not agree to complete all data collection components of the study
- •Limited from active-duty firefighting (regardless of reason)
- •Medical conditions precluding the use of a sauna
- •Pregnancy (as sauna use is contraindicated in pregnancy)
结局指标
主要结局
Change of PAHs present in sweat
时间窗: Through study completion, when 90 matched samples have been collected
This study aims to demonstrate that sauna use immediately after active-duty firefighting will result in a change of PAH biomarkers measurable in sweat.
次要结局
- Change in PAHs present in urine(Through study completion, when 90 matched samples have been collected)