Ss64-03 Micro-Rna and Audiological Variables in the Exposure to Noise and Solvents

Introduction Workers exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in combination to noise are more likely at risk of developing hearing loss. Materials and Methods Seventeen painters working in a shipyard were enrolled in this study. The exposure to the different VOCs was evaluated by measuring the VOC metabolite concentrations in the end-shift urine matrix. Next-generation sequencing analysis of the microRNAs was performed on blood samples. The polymorphism of two genes involved in the DNA repair, hOGG1 and XRCC1, was studied to individuate possible susceptibility indexes. The hearing functionality was assessed in terms of hearing threshold level (HL), and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). The associations between the miRNAs and the HL or the DPOAE amplitude were studied. The multivariate sPLS-DA analysis was used as discrimination analysis between subjects with different hearing functionality. Results The audiological variables, both the HL and the DPOAEs, were found significantly associated to the microRNA expression levels. The HL increase was mainly associated to the downregulation of miR-122-5p and miR-195-5p whilst the DPOAE level reduction was associated to the upregulation of miR-206 and to the downregulation of miR-497-5p and miR-92b-5p. The homozygous and heterozygous variants of the gene hOGG1 were found disadvantaged with respect to the wild-type, as regards the risk of hearing impairment due to exposure to VOCs. Conclusions The study shows how molecular biology could help in finding the molecular basis of the damage development in workers exposed to noise and VOCs. The study of susceptibility indexes could help in a personalised approach to the prevention of professional diseases.