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Effect of exposure to ethylene glycol ethers on shipyard painters: III. Hematologic effects
Author(s) -
Welch Laura S.,
Cullen Mark R.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700140504
Subject(s) - medicine , hematocrit , white blood cell , hemoglobin , confounding , observational study , toxicology , biology
Hemoglobin, hematocrit, red cell indices, total and differential white blood cell counts, and platelet count were measured in shipyard painters and control subjects as part of a cross‐sectional, observational study of the effects of ethylene glycol ethers. Although the means of all variables were comparable between the groups, a significant proportion of painters were anemic (10%) and granulocytopenic (5%); none of the controls were affected. Review of company records documented that most of these abnormalities were acquired during employment; preexisting disease and other exposure could not explain the findings. These findings are consistent with prior animal studies and human case reports. Potential biases and confounding of the data are discussed.