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Autonomic and central nervous system effects of lead in female glass workers in china
Author(s) -
Murata Katsuyuki,
Araki Shunichi,
Yokoyama Kazuhito,
Nomiyama Kazuo,
Nomiyama Hiroko,
Tao YongXian,
Liu ShiJie
Publication year - 1995
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.4700280208
Subject(s) - medicine , central nervous system , autonomic nervous system , china , occupational exposure , lead (geology) , occupational medicine , environmental health , blood pressure , heart rate , geomorphology , political science , law , geology
To clarify the effects of lead on autonomic and central nervous system functions, electrocardiographic R‐R interval variability (CV RR ) as well as visual and brainstem auditory evoked potentials (VEP and BAEP) were measured in 36 female workers exposed to lead (exposed group) and in 15 female textile workers (unexposed group). The C‐CV LF , C‐CV HF (two component CVs of the CV RR reflecting sympathetic and parasympathetic activities, respectively), and LF/HF ratio (indicator of sympatho‐vagal balance) were also computed from component spectral powers by means of autoregressive spectral and component analyses. The exposed group had engaged in glass work for 2‐17 (mean 7.8) years. Blood lead (BPb) concentrations were 25.8–79.3 (mean 55.6) μg/dl in the exposed group and 4.7‐8.6 (mean 6.3) μg/dl in the unexposed group. The CV RR , C‐CV LF, C‐CV HF , and LF/HF ratio in the exposed group were significantly lower than those in the unexposed group. Also, the exposed group had more complaints of subjective symptoms and signs than did the unexposed group. On the other hand, no significant differences in either VEP or BAEP latencies were found between the two groups. It is suggested that autonomic nervous function is more susceptible to lead than visual and auditory nervous functions; lead affects sympathetic activity more strongly than parasympathetic activity.