Abstract
Studies about the association between lead exposure and the elevation of blood pressure and risk of hypertension are varied, while available data on blood lead levels (BLL) in workers with lead-exposure are scarce. This research aimed to evaluate associations between BLL and blood pressure in an occupational population-based study in Jiangsu province, China. We enrolled 21,688 workers in this study. Information on socioeconomic and occupational background was obtained with face-to-face interviews. BLL, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured, and hypertension status was confirmed. We found that workers in mini-factories had the highest average BLL (20.3 μg/dL; 95% CI, 19.0–21.6 μg/dL) for overall participants. The employees in private factories had higher BLL (9.6 μg/dL; 95% CI, 9.5–9.8 μg/dL). However, BLL was much lower (4.0 μg/dL; 95%CI, 3.7–4.2 μg/dL) in state-owned factories. Participants working in the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry had higher BLL (9.1 μg/dL; 95% CI, 9.0–9.3μg/dL). Compared to those workers with ≤ 4.6 μg/dL BLL, workers with > 17.5 μg/dL BLL presented 1.34 mmHg and 0.70 mmHg average difference in SBP and DBP, respectively. The adjusted OR for hypertension was 1.11 (95%CI, 1.08–1.15) compared to the workers with > 17.5 μg/dL BLL and to those with ≤ 4.6 μg/dL BLL. In summary, we found that BLL was positively associated with SBP and DBP and with the morbidity of hypertension in occupational populations with a high concentration of lead exposure. It is important to formulate new standards of blood lead levels to screen for elevated lead exposure. In addition, a series of new systems of risk assessment should be established to further reduce and prevent lead exposure.
Highlights
Lead (Pb) is a pervasive occupational toxicant in many industries, such as the electrical equipment manufacturing industry and mining industry
The average blood lead levels (BLL) was 10.8 μg/dL for participants with higher systolic pressure and 10.9 μg/dL for participants with higher diastolic pressure compared with those with normal systolic and diastolic blood pressure (8.5 μg/dL; 95% CI, 8.4–8.7 μg/dL) and (8.4 μg/dL; 95% CI, 8.3–8.6 μg/dL), respectively
We found the association of blood lead was +1.34 mmHg (P < 0.001) and +0.70 mmHg (P < 0.001) for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), respectively
Summary
Lead (Pb) is a pervasive occupational toxicant in many industries, such as the electrical equipment manufacturing industry and mining industry. The toxic effects of lead have been documented since the ancient times of Greece and China[1]. Inhalation, ingestion and dermal absorption are the two main routes of exposure to lead [2], and inhalation is the primary route of occupational exposure. It has been demonstrated that acute and chronic occupational exposure to lead may lead to progressive health effects in several human organs and systems including the nervous, haematopoietic, and cardiovascular systems, as well as the kidney and bones [3]. Based on data from 2015, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has estimated that lead exposure accounted for 494,550 deaths and 9.3 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs) due to long-term effects on health, with the highest burden in developing regions[4]. Even though the environmental lead concentration has steadily decreased in recent decades, higher concentrations of lead were still found in some populations occupationally exposed to lead[5]
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