title: Health-Related Quality of Life of Former Lead Workers in Brazil.
abstract: Little is known about the health-related quality of life of former lead workers. Using the Short-Form 36 Questionnaire (SF-36), a cross-section design study evaluated the health-related quality of life of 186 former workers of a lead smelter that operated in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Brazil, from 1960 to 1993, when it closed down. The smelter had very poor occupational and environmental hygiene standards. The health-related quality of life of former lead workers was low, compared to population-based and other nosological groups from Brazil. Former lead workers who indicated metal poisoning, difficulty getting another job and who could not get another job after dismissal by the smelter presented poorer health-related quality of life. Former lead workers with poor health-related quality of life form part of the huge occupational liability left by the Santo Amaro lead smelter.
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduate Program in Health, Environment, and Work, School of Medicine, Federal University of Bahia, Largo do Terreiro de Jesus, s/n. Centro Histórico, Salvador, Bahia 40026-010, Brazil. marthateixeira6@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Martha Carvalho Pereira
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduate Program in Health, Environment, and Work, School of Medicine, Federal University of Bahia, Largo do Terreiro de Jesus, s/n. Centro Histórico, Salvador, Bahia 40026-010, Brazil. fmc.ufba@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Fernando Martins
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduate Program in Health, Environment, and Work, School of Medicine, Federal University of Bahia, Largo do Terreiro de Jesus, s/n. Centro Histórico, Salvador, Bahia 40026-010, Brazil. liliane.lins@ufba.br.
authors.forename: Liliane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D000075322:Heavy Metal Poisoning; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D008669:Metallurgy; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000009:adverse effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011041:Poisoning; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D007854:Lead
keywords: lead poisoning; metallurgy; occupational health; quality of life; retirement