Silicosis is an important industrial health problem for those workers exposed to
silica. The present study aimed to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of combined detection of
biomarkers in early auxiliary diagnosis of
silicosis, the risk factors of
silicosis were also studied. The study sample comprised 65 workers who had clinical
silicosis and 70 matched control subjects who were exposed to
silica but did not have clinical
silicosis. The levels of
superoxide dismutase,
malondialdehyde,
interleukin 6 (IL-6),
tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and
cholinesterases in the serum of 135 subjects were measured. After completing the biochemical assays, a logistic regression model based on the above biochemical determination results was established, and the receiver operating characteristic curve was used for judging the discrimination ability of different statistical indexes. The expression levels of MDA,
IL-6, and
TNF-alpha in serum samples of patients with stage I
silicosis and MDA and
IL-6 in serum samples of patients with stage II
silicosis were all significantly higher. Results from logistic regression analysis showed that
ChEs were protective factors for
silicosis, while age, chronic respiratory symptoms,
IL-6, and MDA were risk factors. The areas under the ROC curve (AUC) were 0.86 (IL-6), 0.81 (MDA), and 0.65 (
TNF-alpha or
ChEs). AUC-ROC = 0.90 (95%CI:0.84-0.95). The diagnostic efficiency of
IL-6 combined with MDA and
TNF-alpha was better than that of any single
biomarker.