High blood pressure and exposure to lead: About a study of welders at a steel company

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of high blood pressure in welders exposed to lead. we conducted a descriptive analytical study of 30 welders exposed to lead in steel company and 30 unexposed subjects. Each patient was subjected to full complete medical questionnaire and underwent careful physical examination and detailed laboratory investigations. We used statistical tests: t, z, chi 2 tests, relative risk and logistic regression. The subjects were males with an average age of 42 years. Eighty-seven percent of the subjects were married. The average duration of smoking was 5.5 ± 7 years. 58.5% of smokers belong to class. The frequency of hypertension was higher in welders than unexposed (10% vs. 6.6%). The age of onset of hypertension was 28 years for wilders and 38 years for unexposed subjects. The risk of high blood pressure in welders is multiplied by 1.5. This risk increases with years of exposure RR = 2 for welders exposed to lead over 20 years. A significant difference for mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure was recorded ( P < 0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors (age, sex, smoking, obesity, the relationship between Hypertension and lead exposure is confirmed for the duration of exposure ( P = 0.01). We found that long-term exposure to welding fumes increases blood pressure and may increase the risk of hypertension. Exposure to lead remains a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.