Resumen

AYARDE ROMERO, Benjamin; CUTI, Marina; ASCARRUNZ GONZALEZ, María Eugenia  y  TIRADO BUSTILLOS, Noemí. Genotoxic effect of tobacco consumption in UMSA-Medicine Faculty students who live at a very high altittute above sea level. BIOFARBO [online]. 2008, vol.16, n.1, pp. 67-71. ISSN 1813-5363.

The objective was to assess the frequency of micronucleus in epithelial cells of the oral mucosa, to determine DNA damage as an indication of chromosome breakage or mitotic interference in 200 college students from the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad Mayor de San Andres in La Paz city (3600 metersa bove sea level) and  Alto (4100 m.a.s.l.), exposed to tobacco consumption and their components. The group of students who live at 4100 m.a.s.l. shows a significantly higher frequency of micronucleus that belong to oral mucosa than to the frequency found in the students who live at 3600 meters. (p=0.04) This study suggests that the altitude above sea level is an important factor to be taken into account and also that the use of MN assay in epithelial cells of oral mucosa is a sensitive and non-invasive factor for evaluating genotoxic damage.

Palabras llave : Genotoxic damage; chromosome breakage; tobacco consumption; micronuclei; oral cells; high altitude.