Table 2.
Basic Characteristics of the Male Workers, Including Biomarkers of Genotoxicity and Epigenotoxicity
| Controls | Welders | P‐value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agea | 43 (23–56) | 41 (23–60) | 0.93b |
| BMIa | 27 (22–34) | 28 (22–34) | 0.70b |
| Ethnicity (parents’ nationality in European/others) | 122/5 (3.9%) | 96/5 (5.0%) | 0.75c |
| Education (high school or lower/university or higher) | 109/17 (87%) | 94/7 (93%) | 0.13c |
| Years working in current occupationa | 6.0 (0.83–24) | 7.0 (0.50–24) | 0.50b |
| History of cancer (yes/no) | 2/125 | 0/101 | 0.50c |
| Family history of cancer (yes/no/do not know) | 26/95/5 | 16/80/5 | 0.66c |
| Previous smoking (yes/no) | 43/83 (34%) | 43/58 (43%) | 0.22c |
| Passive smoking (yes/no) | 16/111 (13%) | 29/72 (29%) | 0.0041c |
| Current residence (big city/small city/big town/small town) | 29/28/52/18 | 10/16/49/26 | 0.010 |
| Wood burning stove/boiler at home (yes/no) | 27/100 (21%) | 47/54 (47%) | <0.001c |
| 8‐OxodGa(nmol/L) | 13 (6.2–20) | 14 (7.0–28) | 0.070b |
| Relative telomere lengtha | 0.88 (0.57–1.3) | 0.86 (0.55–1.2) | 0.090b |
| DNA methylation indexd (low/medium/high) | 39/51/30 | 26/34/28 | 0.59c |
| HOXA9 methylatione | 116/10 (92%) | 95/2 (98%) | 0.072c |
| SHOX2 methylatione | 59/63 (48%) | 42/56 (43%) | 0.50c |
| CDKN2A methylatione | 46/80 (37%) | 43/58 (43%) | 0.41c |
| MGMT methylatione | 20/107 (16%) | 16/85 (16%) | 1.0c |
| APC methylatione | 1/126 (0.79%) | 9/84 (9.7%) | 0.0022c |
| C‐reactive proteina (mg/L) | 1.1 (0.30–5.0) | 1.2 (0.30–5.0) | 0.60 |
| Serum amyloid Aa (mg/L) | 2.4 (0.40–14) | 2.3 (0.95–8.7) | 0.60 |
a
Median (5%–95%).
b
The P‐values were from t‐test.
c
The P‐values were from Fisher's exact test.
d
Number of genes that were methylated (low: one gene; medium: two genes; and high: three or more genes).
e
Methylated/nonmethylated.