Molecular Impacts of Occupational Exposure to Waste Anesthetic Gases

Millions of healthcare professionals are occupationally exposed to waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) worldwide; however, their effect on DNA methylation is unknown. Thus, for the first time, global DNA methylation analysis was performed in addition to the comet assay and gene expression analysis in this case–control study to reveal possible molecular alterations associated with WAG exposure. A total of 86 participants were included (43 healthcare professionals exposed to WAGs and 43 matched‐controls). Mononuclear cells were isolated for the comet assay, and DNA was extracted from whole blood for global DNA methylation analysis. RNA was isolated for the gene expression of NRF2 , SIRT1 , and HO1 . Increased DNA damage was observed in the exposed group ( p = 0.02). No differences in global DNA methylation or HO1 expression were observed ( p > 0.05), but SIRT1 ( p = 0.01) and NRF2 ( p = 0.02) upregulation were observed in the exposed group. These findings highlight the molecular effects of WAG exposure.