Evaluation of Interleukin 4, High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Activity of Alanine Transaminase Among Cooks in Nnewi

Soot arises from burning wood, oils, tires, and other hydrocarbon or organic compounds. Soot is widespread and has a massive detrimental effect on human health, climate, and air quality. The serum levels of Interleukin 4, High sensitivity C-reactive protein, and alanine transaminase activity were evaluated. This cross–sectional study recruited 90 participants consisting of 45 participants exposed to soot (test group) and 45 participants not exposed to soot (control group). The Faculty of Health Sciences and Technology Ethics Committee at Nnamdi Azikiwe University granted ethical approval, and participants’ informed consent was acquired. Interleukin 4 and high sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were determined using the Sandwich ELISA method while the activity of alanine transaminase was determined using the spectrophotometric method. Questionnaires were used to obtain the socio-demographic data of the participants and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated using weight (kg)/height2 (m2). Independent t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis and significance was set at p<0.05. The results showed that the mean serum activity of alanine transaminase (9.30 ± 0.28) was significantly lower in the participants exposed to soot compared with the control (9.48 ± 0.37) (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the mean serum levels of Interleukin 4 and high sensitivity C-reactive protein of participants exposed to soot compared with the control (p>0.05). Hence, exposure to soot through the use of firewood did not predispose cooks to systemic inflammation, or cardiovascular and hepatic dysfunctions. Keywords: Soot, alanine transaminase, Interleukin 4, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, inflammation