Glutathione as a prognostic factor of health risk in working population

Redox balance plays the key role in maintaining health. Optimizing glutathione levels has been proposed as a strategy for health promotion and disease prevention, although cause-effect relationships between glutathione status and disease risk or treatment have not been fully clarified. This study aims to estimate glutathione as a non-specific prognostic risk factor of health disorders in people exposed to industrial aerosols at their workplaces. Our observation covered the following occupational groups: workers employed at a metallurgic plant who contacted industrial aerosols (welding and silicon-containing aerosols with predominantly fibrogenic effects); patients with non-obstructive chronic industrial bronchitis (NCIB) without exacerbation; patients suffering from occupational chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (oCOPD) who were in a post-exposure period; workers who were not exposed to industrial aerosols at their workplaces. Total glutathione (TG), reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) were identified in whole blood by the Ellman method. Elevated GSSG levels (higher than 100 µmol/l) and low values of the GSH/GSSG ratio (less than 10 units) were identified in more than 50 % of the workers exposed to industrial aerosols. These markers were established to have diagnostic sensitivity of more than 50 %, diagnostic specificity of more than 85 % and prognostic significance of more than 80 % for the examined groups. The GSSG level and GSH/GSSG ratio can be used as a prognostic indicator of health disorders in workers exposed to industrial aerosols and a possibility of chronic bronchopulmonary pathology developing in future.