Automobile workers are at high risk for lung, urinary tract, brain and skin cancers due to their direct\r\nexposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and lead (Pb) toxicity. The current study was\r\naimed to assess the effect of automobile workshop environment on health of auto mechanics in N. W. F.\r\nP. Pakistan. A questionnaire was designed and blood samples were collected from the auto mechanics\r\nand students. Students of University of Malakand were selected as control, that is, that were not\r\nexposed to automobile workshop environment. Serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), uric\r\nacid, calcium, bilirubin, haemoglobin levels and the prevalence of hepatitis B and C were observed. The\r\nresults of the workers showed an increase in concentrations of SGPT (104.4 �± 49.46 IU/L), calcium (18.96\r\n�± 0.04877 mg/dl), bilirubin direct (0.877 �± 0.206 mg/dl) and bilirubin indirect (0.986 �± 0.324 mg/dl) as\r\ncompared to students. Significant decrease was observed in haemoglobin (9.635 �± 0.2405 mg/dl) level.\r\nThe mean value of uric acid was (6.93 �± 1.077 mg/dl), 50% of the workers had high uric acid level and\r\n12% had low level of uric acid as compared to control group. The percentage of occurrence of hepatitis\r\nB and C in the workers was 10 and 18% respectively and 4% of the workers were positive for both. The\r\nresults for uric acid, SGPT, calcium, bilirubin and haemoglobin were in normal range in students. The\r\nprevalence rate of hepatitis was zero among the control group. We concluded that workshop\r\nenvironment has significant ill effect on liver and kidney function. However, further studies should be\r\ndone on large population size to avoid all these risks to the workers of such environment.
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