scholarly journals A study on health profile of workers in a battery factory with reference to lead toxicity: six months study

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 1519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhaskar Singamsetty ◽  
Pavan Kumar Gollapudi
Keyword(s):  
Demographic Data ◽  
Lead Toxicity ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Health Profile ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Battery Factory

Background: Occupational health should aim at the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations. Among the occupational diseases, diseases due to chemical agents like chemical gases, inorganic and organic dusts, metals and their compounds, chemicals and solvents constitute one important group. Workers engaged in lead industries like gasoline additives, lead based paints, ceramic glazes, plumbing of pipes  are continuously exposed and are at a greater risk of lead toxicity. The present study was aimed to emphasize the health profile of workers in a battery factory and with reference to their blood lead levels and correlation with signs and symptoms of lead toxicity.Methods: A prospective cross sectional study was conducted among workers for 6 months period and health details were evaluated along with demographic data (age, duration of work, etc.) and examined for signs and symptoms of lead toxicity. Blood lead levels of the workers were estimated and correlated with other parameters like Hb%, serum creatinine. Results: Mean blood lead levels of the workers were high among the workers working for longer duration in battery fitting unit. Toxicity signs and symptoms were observed and they were attributable to lead toxicity. Few cases had audiometric disturbances and one had loss of vision. High levels of lead in blood were found to be related to hypertension and anemia among the workers. Conclusions: Heavy metal, lead is a major environmental pollutant and its toxicity continues to create health problems in several segments of the population. There is urgent need for the prevention and control of lead toxicity by strengthening the systematic screening for blood lead levels compatible with sub clinical lead toxicity and a routine case finding for hypertension secondary to lead exposure, including IEC activities at all levels.

scholarly journals Accuracy of lead risk assessment questionnaire in predicting elevated blood lead levels in children

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 972
Author(s):  
Kanimozhi Sadasivam ◽  
Balaji Chinnasami ◽  
Apurva Hariharan ◽  
Balaji Ramraj ◽  
Rahul Saravanan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Lead Toxicity ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Smoking History ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Assessment Questionnaire

Background: Lead toxicity in children is a serious problem affecting their neurodevelopment. Although CDC mandates screening for lead toxicity regularly in children, India doesn’t have any lead related public health program in place. In resource limited India a prescreening lead risk assessment questionnaire will be more economical than universal screening for blood lead levels (BLL). Authors aim to evaluate the accuracy of a validated modified CDC lead risk assessment questionnaire in predicting elevated BLL.Methods: Authors conducted an explorative cross-sectional study from July to August 2017 in 340 children aged 6 months to 6 years. A standardized self-administered questionnaire modified from CDC lead risk assessment questionnaire was administered in the children. Also, BLL were measured in all study subjects using lead care II analyser. Data from questionnaire were compared with BLL to test the accuracy of questionnaire.Results: Blood lead levels was high (>5ug/dl) in 57.9% of study subjects especially in children between 24-35 months. Employment in battery manufacturing companies (P=0.0001), usage of cosmetics (P=0.019), parental smoking history (P=0.001), involvement in painting, arts (P=0.0001) and malnourished children (P=0.018) were the risk factors associated with undesirable BLL. The modified questionnaire had a sensitivity of 87.9% and specificity of 66.7% for detecting elevated BLL.Conclusions: The modified CDC lead risk assessment questionnaire is a sensitive tool in identifying high risk cases of lead toxicity in children.

scholarly journals The correlation between uremic pruritus and blood lead levels in prevalent hemodialysis patients and its relation to the severity of pruritus using visual analog score

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahar Mahmoud Shawky ◽  
Reeham Abdel Aziz Abdel Hamid ◽  
Lina Essam Khedr
Keyword(s):  
Blood Lead ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Hemodialysis Patients ◽  
Visual Analog Score ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Uremic Pruritus ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Group 2

Abstract Background Pruritus is a common and often distressing symptom in patients with chronic kidney disease. Though the pathogenesis of uremic pruritus remains poorly understood, systemic inflammation has presented itself as one of the possible explanations. High blood lead levels (BLLs) have been noted to be associated with inflammation and poor nutritional status in hemodialysis patients. Our aim is to study the relation between blood lead levels and uremic pruritus. This is a cross-sectional study that enrolled 50 patients; all were on regular hemodialysis 3 times per week for at least 6 months. Patients were divided into 2 groups, group 1 (n =10) with no pruritus and group 2 (n=40) with varying degrees of pruritus. Group 2 was further divided according to intensity of pruritus by visual analog score (VAS) into mild (n=10), moderate (n=20), and severe pruritus (n=10). Results There was a significant difference in serum lead levels and ferritin levels between groups 1 and 2 (p value < 0.01 and < 0.05, respectively). There was a statistically significant difference in serum lead levels in the groups with varying intensity of pruritus, having higher serum lead levels in patients who exhibited severe pruritus (p value < 0.005) Moreover, a statistically significant relation between elevated blood lead levels and the duration of dialysis was observed in this study. Conclusion Uremic pruritus is a multi-factorial phenomenon, and our study showed that blood lead levels in hemodialysis patients might be associated with increased intensity of pruritus.

Low-Level Lead Exposure and Blood Lead Levels in Children: A Cross-Sectional Survey

2001 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 501-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aysha Habib Khan ◽  
Amanullah Khan ◽  
Farooq Ghani ◽  
Muhammad Khurshid
Keyword(s):  
Lead Exposure ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Lead Levels

Identification of Children At Risk for Lead Poisoning: An Evaluation of Routine Pediatric Blood Lead Screening in an HMO-Insured Population

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary N. Haan ◽  
Marianne Gerson ◽  
B. Anne Zishka
Keyword(s):  
Health Maintenance Organization ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Care Program ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Elevated Blood ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Maintenance ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Elevated Blood Lead Levels

Objectives. To estimate the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels in children receiving well-care checkups; and to evaluate the effectiveness of certain key risk factors in detecting children at higher risk for elevated blood lead levels. Design. Cross-sectional study. Setting. Two facilities of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (KPMCP) health maintenance organization (HMO), northern California region. Patients. Six hundred thirty-six children, aged 12 to 60 months, who were seen at four KPMCP facilities in two subregions for a well-care checkup from September 1991 through August 1992. Interventions. Blood samples were collected from each child and analyzed for lead content. Participating parents completed a questionnaire that included questions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the child's and the parents' lead exposure via home, workplace, and hobbies. Results. Ninety-six percent of the children had blood lead levels under 10 µ/dL. Blood lead levels declined with increasing age and were higher for black children compared with whites. Age of residential housing, mother's education, and residence in an old house with peeling paint had low sensitivity and positive predictive value for identifying children with blood lead levels over 10 µ/dL. Conclusion. Universal routine screening for elevated blood lead levels in children in an employed, HMO-insured population is not warranted on grounds of prevalence. Responses to CDC questions do not effectively identify high-risk children in this population.

scholarly journals Assessment of a Screening Questionnaire to Identify Exposure to Lead in Pregnant Women

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 9220
Author(s):  
Eléna Coiplet ◽  
Marine Freuchet ◽  
Claire Sunyach ◽  
Julien Mancini ◽  
Jeanne Perrin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Lead Exposure ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Risk Of Exposure ◽  
Exposure During Pregnancy ◽  
Systematic Identification

Lead readily crosses the placenta and displays adverse effects on birth outcomes and neurodevelopment. Systematic identification of the risk of exposure during pregnancy is essential but rarely performed, probably due to hospital staff’s workload and their lack of awareness. We aimed to evaluate the relevance of a questionnaire to screen pregnant women for lead exposure. A cross-sectional, multicentre study was carried out on a population of 792 pregnant women from February 2018 to May 2020. A total of 596 women had a blood lead test: 68.5% had blood lead levels below 10 μg/L. The estimated prevalence above 25 µg/L was 4% (95% confidence interval (CI) [2.6–5.9]) and 1.3% had levels above 50 µg/L (95% CI [0.6–2.6]). Multivariate analysis showed that three risk factors significantly increased the probability of blood lead levels above 25 µg/L: the use of traditional cosmetics (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 3.90; 95% CI [1.65–9.21]; p = 0.002), degraded old housing (aOR: 2.67; 95% CI [1.19–6.038]; p = 0.018), and (marginally) eating bread more than twice a day (aOR: 2.40; 95% CI [0.96–6.11]; p = 0.060). Our study reveals that a three-question tool can be used to quickly screen for the risk of lead exposure in our population and to trigger lead blood tests and special vigilance during pregnancy follow-up.

scholarly journals Contemporary blood lead levels of children aged 0–84 months in China: A national cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 134 ◽  
pp. 105288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min-Ming Li ◽  
Zhen-Yan Gao ◽  
Chen-Yin Dong ◽  
Mei-Qin Wu ◽  
Jin Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Lead ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lead Levels

scholarly journals Proximity of residence to an old mineral storage site in Chile and blood lead levels in children

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Loreto Lisboa ◽  
José Klarián ◽  
Rosario Toro Campos ◽  
Verónica Iglesias
Keyword(s):  
Lead Level ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Storage Site ◽  
Inverse Association ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Exposure Variable ◽  
Lead Levels

Evidence suggests that an old mineral storage site removed in 1998 due to high lead content, remains as a source of exposure in the city of Antofagasta, Chile. The aim was to determine the association between blood lead levels in children and the residential proximity to the old mineral storage site. A cross sectional study was conducted with 185 children aged 7 to 16 years. The outcome variable was blood lead levels measured in 2005. The exposure variable was the distance between the current residence and the old mineral storage site. The distance was measured in meters by Geographic Information System (GIS). The median blood lead level in 2005 was 3.3μg/dL (interquartile range ‒ IQR: 2.0-4.3). A significant inverse association was found between the residential distance to the old mineral storage site and the blood lead levels in children, after adjusting by confounders (β: -0.04; 95%CI: -0.09; -0.01). This result suggests that the old mineral storage site continues to be a source of lead exposure for the children living nearby.

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