|
KMID : 0358519930050010152
|
|
Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
1993 Volume.5 No. 1 p.152 ~ p.162
|
|
|
Blod Carboxyhemoglobin Levels and Clinical Symptoms of Furnace-Repairing Workers
|
|
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
To estimate carbon monoxide (CO) exposure levels and to evaluate health effects of chronic low level CO exposures of furnace-repairing workers, self-administrative questionnaire and venous carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) concentration measurements were
performed on 808 furnace-repairing workers (exposed group) and 162 clerical workers (control group). Mean COHb level of furnace-repairing workers (3.21%) was significantly higher than that of clerical workers (2.35%) (p-value<0.0001 by T-test)
and
mean
COHb level of smokers (mean: 3.88%) was higher than that of nonsokers (mean: 0.90%) (p-value<0.0001 by T-test). Smokers in exposed group showed statistically different COHb levels from those in control group but mean COHb level of nonsmokers in
exposed
group was not statistically different from that of control group. There was no CO-related symptoms, the positive response rates of which were higher in exposed group. 'Sputum' was the only symptom that showed higher positive rate in smokers. COHb
levels
did not lmearly decrease with the time interval from workshift to blood sampling, while it did with time interval from last smoking to blood sampling.
These results suggest that COHb level of furnace-repairing workers mainly depends on the smoking habit and may be related to their occupational CO expousres only to a small degree. Since low level CO exposure may be harmful to high risk patients
and to
smokers, furnace-repairing compaines require attention to detecting those high risk workers and educating hazardous effects of smoking.
|
|
|
KEYWORD
|
|
|
|
|
|
FullTexts / Linksout information
|
|
|
|
|
Listed journal information
|
|
  
|