title: The relation between occupational exposure to lead and blood pressure among employed normotensive men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lead is a pollutant with numerous adverse effects on health. Since it can affect blood pressure, peripheral blood vessels, and the heart, the present study aimed to evaluate the relation between occupational exposure to lead and blood pressure.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study included male individuals working in battery firms in Isfahan. A questionnaire covering demographic characteristics and the history of different 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
  The mean age of the 182 studied workers was 42.85 ± 13.65 years. They had worked in battery firms 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 significant. The effects of lead on systolic and diastolic blood pressure after stepwise regression were B = -0.327 [confidence interval (CI) 95%: -0.877 to 0.223] and B = -0.094 (CI 95%: -0.495 to 0.307), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study revealed that BLLs in battery firm workers to be normal. Additionally, BLLs were not significantly related with either systolic or diastolic blood pressure which might have been the result of normal BLLs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Ladan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Taheri
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Rehabilitation Research Center, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sanei
authors.affiliation: Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Katayoun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rabiei
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Somayeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arabzadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Jafar
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Golshahi
authors.affiliation: Psychosomatic Research Center, Psychosomatic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Afshar
authors.affiliation: Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Nizal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sarrafzadegan
keywords: Hypertension; lead; occupational exposure