Assessment of some haematological parameters among commercial fishermen in Amassoma Bayelsa State Nigeria

Fishing is an occupation that is stressful, thus can affect human health in diverse ways. This study assessed some haematological parameters among commercial fishermen in Amassoma, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. With the aid of a venipuncture technique, 5ml blood sample was collected from each of the eighty one participants used for this study who were subsequently categorized into three groups: experimental group one made up of twenty seven fishermen with < 5 years fishing experience and within the age range of 24 .and 37 years, experimental group two made up of twenty seven fishermen with 5-10 years fishing experience and within the age range of 24 and 37 years and non-fishermen within the age range of 24 to 37 years who represented the control group. The blood samples were dispensed into ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid anti-coagulated bottles respectively and used to measure packed cells volume (micro-haematocrit method), haemoglobin (automation method), total white blood cells (improved neubauer method)and erythrocytes sedimentation rate (westergren method).After these measurements the obtained data were analyzed employing the SPSS 23.0 version as statistical package while the differences between the groups which were considered significant at a p-value lesser than 0.05 were assessed using student “t” test. The results in experimental group one fishermen revealed no statistically significant differences in the mean values of packed cells volume (p=0.71), haemoglobin (p=0.68), and erythrocytes sedimentation rate (p=0.74) while that of total white blood cells revealed significant elevation (p=0.03) as compared to the control group. Meanwhile, the mean values of packed cells volume (p=0.02) and haemoglobin (p=0.02) revealed significant decrease while total white blood cells count (p=0.01) and erythrocytes sedimentation rate (p=0.02) revealed significant elevation in the experimental group two participants when compared to the control group. This study therefore concludes that commercial fishing for a period of 5-10 years has adverse effect on health. These fishermen are therefore recommended to go for routine medical check- up of these measured haematological parameters.