Serum TNF- α level of patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis and its clinical significance

Objective To study the serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) level of patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis(CWP) and its association with CWP progress.

Methods Totally 117 cases with CWP were studied. The demographic information, the occupational exposure history, and the diagnosis history were surveyed with questionnaire or abstracted from medical history records and their serum TNF-α was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results There was no difference of serum TNF-α level among patients with different exposure time, the pneumoconiosis stage and smoking status(P > 0. 05), but there was a correlation between serum TNF-α level and the exposure time and diagnosed time (r_s = 0.603, 0.186, P < 0.05). The patients diagnosed with CWP for less than 10, 10 - 20 and more than 20 years had serum level of (0.99 ±0.39), (1.20 ±0.47) and (1.21 ±0.44) pg/mL, respectively, and the level had an increasing trend with diagnosis time(F = 3.350, P < 0.05).

Conclusion The level of TNF-α in serum may be related to the progress of CWP, however the mechanisms needs to be further studied.