Background: Traffic policemen who work in the busy traffic signal areas for years together are exposed to the risk of air traffic pollution. In the long run, the pollutants may produce disease such as blood coagulation disorders in the exposed individuals with changes in blood coagulation mechanism.
Objective: To study the effect of traffic air pollution on blood coagulation parameters in Saudi policemen in Eastern Province.
Materials and Methods: Blood coagulation profile (prothrombin time (PT), PTT, antithrombin III, protein S, protein C, and fibrinogen) were measured in 50 male traffic policemen and in 25 matched control subjects. However, particulate and gaseous air pollutants were analyzed in different signals in Dammam and Khobar in Eastern Province (NO2, VOCs, O3, SO2, CO, CO2, and PM10 levels).
Result: Data of this study revealed that traffic policemen are exposed to significant higher levels of gaseous and particulate air pollutants that might modify or change blood coagulation profile. Others blood coagulation profile is not affected to some extent by higher levels of air pollutants.
Conclusion: Our study found minor changes in some coagulation parameters with higher concentrations of ambient air pollutants. However, air pollution levels showed statistically no consistent association with the activated partial thromboplastin time, protein S, protein C, and fibrinogen.
Key words: Bloods coagulation, air pollution, particulate, traffic policemen, Dammam, Eastern Province
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