Cross-sectional study on environmental lead exposure of adults in rural area, China

Objective To know the lead exposure and its health impairments in adults(aged 16 to 60 years)in four villages.Methods The subjects were selected by systematic sampling from the residents living in an area for at least 5 years.Lead concentrations in blood,spoturine,hair,and nails collected from the subjects were measured with graphite furnace electro the rmalatomic absorption spectrometry.The adults were also interviewed with a sel-fmade questionnaire.Statistical analysis were performed with SPSS 15.0.Results The geometric mean(SD)of blood lead levels(PbB)was 64.1±1.8 μg/L,and the lead contents were 11.0±1.7 μg/g,11.7±3.4 μg/g,and 12.1±3.4 μg/g,respectively,in spot urine(PbU),hair(PbH),and nails(PbN).PbU,PbH,and PbN were associated positively with PbB after logarithm tran sformation with Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.485,0.317 and 0.350,respectively.The males dwelling in one of four villages and drinking a lcoholic beverages were likely to have higher PbB.PbH and PbN had relation ships with occurrences of self-conscious symptoms as insomnia,memory decline,numb hands and feet,and blurred vision.Conclusion The residents of the villages have serious lead exposure.The males drinking a lcoholic beve rages were a trisk to have elevated blood lead levels.Some self-conscious symptoms may occur in adults with increased environmental lead exposure.