The Relationships Between Blood Pb Levels and Blood Pressure Among Lead-Exposed Workers in China: A Repeated-Measure Study

Objectives To explore the differences in the increase of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in 3 consecutive years among lead (Pb) workers. Methods Four hundred forty-eight Pb workers were enrolled in this repeated-measure study. Blood Pb, SBP, and DBP were measured in 2015 to 2017. Repeated measure of analysis of variance was used to compare the differences in the increase of SBP and DBP. Results The mean SBP values were 124.0/125.5/126.9 mm Hg, and the mean DBP values were 75.4/77.4/77.8 mm Hg from 2015 to 2017. The differences in the increase of SBP and DBP were 2.94/2.42 mm Hg during the 3-year period. The average annual increase of SBP or DBP showed an upward trend in different Pb dose groups ( F = 4.904, P = 0.002; F = 3.612, P = 0.013). Conclusions Lead exposure caused average annual increases in SBP and DBP with 0.98 and 0.81 mm Hg, which provided basic data for health surveillance.