Health Survey and Assessment of the PolymorphismsBRCA1/P871L,BRCA1/Q356R, andBRCA2/N372H inFemale Gas Station Workers in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Gas station workers are exposed to chemicalsknown to be carcinogenic, especially benzene.The objective was to analyze the health problemsof female gas station workers by means of sociode-mographic and clinical questionnaires, and labora-torial exams. We performed the genotyping of hepolymorphismsBRCA1/P871L and BRCA1/Q356R by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism, and of variantallele BRCA2/N372H through direct sequencing. The female workers showed a higher concentrationof monocytes (P50.039); a greater number ofspontaneous abortions (P50.025, OR54.977,95% CI51.135–30.669); higher tobacco con-sumption (P50.013); and higher alcohol con-sumption (P50.05). The statistical analysis of thepolymorphisms associated with the variables mono-cyte concentration and miscarriage number did notreveal a significant relationship, and smoking andspontaneous abortion were not statistically associ-ated either.