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Occupational exposure to wildland firefighting and its effects on systemic DNA damage

2025-04-09Journal article Open access
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datacite.subject.fosCiências Naturais::Ciências Biológicas
datacite.subject.fosCiências Médicas::Ciências da Saúde
datacite.subject.sdg03:Saúde de Qualidade
dc.contributor.authorEsteves, Filipa
dc.contributor.authorMadureira, Joana
dc.contributor.authorCosta, Carla
dc.contributor.authorPires, Joana
dc.contributor.authorBarros, Bela
dc.contributor.authorAlves, Sara
dc.contributor.authorVaz, Josiana
dc.contributor.authorOliveira, Marta
dc.contributor.authorSlezakova, Klara
dc.contributor.authorFernandes, Adília
dc.contributor.authorPereira, Maria do Carmo
dc.contributor.authorMorais, Simone
dc.contributor.authorValdiglesias, Vanessa
dc.contributor.authorBonassi, Stefano
dc.contributor.authorTeixeira, João Paulo
dc.contributor.authorCosta, Solange
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-11T14:23:39Z
dc.date.available2025-11-11T14:23:39Z
dc.date.issued2025-04-09
dc.description.abstractBackground: Portugal is among the European Union countries more devastated by forest fires. Wildland firefighters are at the forefront of this battle, facing exposure to a wide range of harmful pollutants. Epidemiological studies have highlighted a potential link between occupational firefighting exposure and several diseases, including cancer. To date, very few studies have explored the biological mechanisms associated with such exposure. The present longitudinal study aims to assess changes in early effect biomarkers following wildland firefighters’ occupational exposure to a real wildfire event. Methods: Paired blood samples from 59 healthy Portuguese wildland firefighters were collected at two different time points: before wildfire season and after a fire event during wildfire season. Sociodemographic variables (e.g., age, sex) and work-related factors (e.g., years of service) were assessed via a self-reported questionnaire. Levels of early effect biomarkers, such as primary DNA damage and oxidative DNA damage (oxidised purines) were assessed via comet assay. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) were evaluated by phosphorylated H2AX (γH2AX). Moreover, hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites (OHPAHs) and metal(loid)s were quantified in urine samples. The influence of urinary OHPAHs, urinary metal(loid)s, and other exposure-related factors (e.g., firefighting duration) on changes (Δ) in early effect biomarkers (post-vs. baseline levels) was investigated. Results: Firefighting activities led to a significant increase in both primary DNA damage and oxidative DNA damage by 22 % (95 % CI: 1.11–1.35; p < 0.05) and 23 % (95 % CI: 1.04–1.45; p < 0.05), respectively. Results from linear regression revealed that per each unit increase of urinary 2-hydroxyfluorene (2-OHFlu) (μmol/mol creatinine), the risk of ⧍ oxidative DNA damage increased by 20 % [FR: 1.20 (1.09–1.32); p < 0.01]. Additionally, each unit increase in urinary cesium (Cs) (μg/L) resulted in a significant 4 % increase in Δ primary DNA damage [FR: 1.04 (1.01–1.06); p < 0.05] and a 3 % increase in Δ oxidative DNA damage [FR: 1.03 (1.01–1.05); p < 0.05]. Post-exposure levels of γH2AX were significantly correlated with urinary 2-OHFlu levels assessed after firefighting (r = 0.30; p < 0.05). Furthermore, exposure duration and reported breathing difficulties during firefighting were significantly associated with increased levels of primary DNA damage. Conclusion: Results obtained provide insights into the potential human health effects of wildland firefighting occupational exposure at the genetic and molecular levels, offering new and important mechanistic data. These findings are crucial for implementing health and safety measures, recommendations, and best practices to mitigate occupational risks and protect the health of wildland firefighters.eng
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work received financial support from the project PCIF/SSO/0017/2018 (https://doi.org/10.54499/PCIF/SSO/0017/2018) by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES), through national funds. This work is financed by national funds through the FCT within the scope of projects UIDB/04750/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/04750/2020) and LA/P/0064/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0064/2020). Filipa Esteves was supported by National Funds through FCT, under the Ph.D. fellowship UI/BD/150783/2020. The work of Stefano Bonassi was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente), Rome, Italy, and by the Competitive Funding for University Research Projects [Finanziamento competitivo di progetti di ricerca di ateneo (FIN/RIC)] San Raffaele University, Rome, Italy.
dc.identifier.citationInt J Hyg Environ Health. 2025 May:266:114576. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2025.114576. Epub 2025 Apr 9
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.ijheh.2025.114576
dc.identifier.issn1438-4639
dc.identifier.pmid40203508
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/10590
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.relationA panel of (bio)markers for the surveillance of firefighter's health and safety.
dc.relationEpidemiology Research Unit - Institute of Public Health, University of Porto
dc.relationLaboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health
dc.relationUI/BD/150783/2020
dc.relation.hasversionhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438463925000586?via%3Dihub
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectWildland Firefighters
dc.subjectFirefighting
dc.subjectOccupational Exposure
dc.subjectBiomonitoring
dc.subjectGenotoxicity Biomarkers
dc.subjectDNA Damage
dc.subjectPolycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
dc.subjectPortugal
dc.titleOccupational exposure to wildland firefighting and its effects on systemic DNA damageeng
dc.typejournal article
dcterms.referenceshttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438463925000586?via%3Dihub#sec8
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleA panel of (bio)markers for the surveillance of firefighter's health and safety.
oaire.awardTitleEpidemiology Research Unit - Institute of Public Health, University of Porto
oaire.awardTitleLaboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/Concurso de Projetos de Investigação Científica e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico no Âmbito da Prevenção e Combate a Incêndios Florestais - 2018/PCIF%2FSSO%2F0017%2F2018/PT
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F04750%2F2020/PT
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA%2FP%2F0064%2F2020/PT
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/POR_NORTE/UI%2FBD%2F150783%2F2020/PT
oaire.citation.startPage114576
oaire.citation.titleInternational Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
oaire.citation.volume266
oaire.fundingStreamConcurso de Projetos de Investigação Científica e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico no Âmbito da Prevenção e Combate a Incêndios Florestais - 2018
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.fundingStreamPOR_NORTE
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
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project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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