Trial Information

A Cross-Sectional Study of Hematotoxicity in Workers Exposed to Formaldehyde

Research in industrial workers and professionals exposed to formaldehyde suggests that
occupational exposure to this important chemical is associated with increased risk for
myeloid leukemia. However, there is still uncertainty about the biologic plausibility of the
association because of questions regarding the ability of formaldehyde, which is extremely
reactive, to directly or indirectly cause toxicity to the bone marrow. There have been
several relatively small studies of the impact of occupational formaldehyde exposure on
peripheral blood cells that found some evidence that peripheral blood cells of the myeloid
lineage (i.e., granulocytes, platelets) were significantly decreased in exposed workers. We
propose to follow-up these findings in a relatively large study population in China. We will
study hematologic parameters in 200 higher exposed workers (> 1 ppm), 200 workers exposed to
lower levels of formaldehyde (0.3 to 1 ppm), and a group of 200 unexposed controls
frequency-matched to exposed workers. This study will make an important contribution to our
understanding of the leukemogenic potential of formaldehyde, which has important public
health and regulatory implications.