Objective In order to learn the health status of lead exposed workers and its influence factors, and to provide base data for the promotion of workers' health.
Methods Totally 1 179 lead exposed workers in a lead acid battery factory were surveyed with both occupational questionnaire and health examination.
Results Of 1 179 workers, the median (the 25th and 75th percentiles) of blood lead level was 152.2(65.4, 356.7) μg/L and 10.2% workers had blood lead level no less than 400 μg/L. The electrocardiogram (ECG)examination showed male workers had higher abnormality (14.3%) than female workers(2.2%)(P < 0.01), however, they had lower abnormal rate of blood routine examination (7.1% vs. 18.1%)(P < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of blood lead abnormality among lead-exposed workers was 7.469 times higher than that in non-exposed group (95%CI:2.817-19.804), and the risk of ECG abnormality in male workers was 7.974 times higher than that in the female workers (95%CI:4.099-15.511). It also showed the risk of ECG abnormality among workers with blood lead level no less than 300 g/L was 3.450 times higher than that in the control group (blood lead level < 100 g/L)(95%CI:1.724-15.690); the risk of anemia in male workers was 0.342 of that in female workers(95%CI:0.235-0.499). The risk of anemia among workers with blood lead level no less than 200 g/L or 300 g/L was 3.020 times (95%CI:1.234-8.562) and 3.870 times (95%CI:1.985-16.398) higher than those in the control group, respectively.
Conclusion The ECG abnormality of male lead-exposed workers was higher than that of female workers, while the incidence of anemia showed inverse condition. Blood lead level is the independent risk factor for workers' health. The health surveillance and periodic physical examination should be taken to safeguard workers' health in the future.
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