The relation between occupational exposure to lead and blood pressure among employed normotensive men

Background: Lead is a pollutant with numerous adverse eff ects on health. Since it can aff ect blood pressure, peripheral blood vessels, and the heart, the present study aimed to evaluate the relation between occupational exposure to lead and blood pressure. Materials and Methods: Th is cross-sectional study included male individuals working in battery fi rms in Isfahan. A questionnaire covering demographic characteristics and the history of diff erent diseases and occupational exposure to lead was completed. Each participant’s blood pressure was also measured and recorded. After obtaining blood samples and determining lead levels, mean and frequency analyses were performed. In addition, Pearson’s correlation test and linear regression were used to assess the relation between blood lead levels (BLLs) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. All analyses were performed in SPSS.19 Results: Th e mean age of the 182 studied workers was 42.85 ± 13.65 years. Th ey had worked in battery fi rms for a mean period of 23.67 ± 14.72 years. Moreover, the mean value of BLLs among the participants was 7.92 ± 3.44 μg/dL. Correlation between BLL and systolic and diastolic blood pressure was not signifi cant. Th e eff ects of lead on systolic and diastolic blood pressure after stepwise regression were B = –0.327 [confi dence interval (CI) 95%: –0.877 to 0.223] and B = –0.094 (CI 95%: –0.495 to 0.307), respectively. Conclusion: Th is study revealed that BLLs in battery fi rm workers to be normal. Additionally, BLLs were not signifi cantly related with either systolic or diastolic blood pressure which might have been the result of normal BLLs.