To evaluate the health status of workers in lead using industries under supervision by Soonchunhyang University Institute of Industrial Medicine as part of program of group occupational health service and find out longitudinal changes of health status of lead workers through the service for 5 years from 1989 to 1993, authors analyzed 5 years´s periodic health examination data which comprised 29 lead using industries with 40,035 total cumulative number of workers. Selected variables for this study were screening results of general health examination and final results of confirmative health examination for the general health examination which dealt with office workers and blue collar workers with no exposure of hazardous condition. For the special health examination, zinc protoporphyrin in whole blood (ZPP) and screening results of special health examination were selected for study variables. For the confirmative special health examination with screening positive workers, blood lead(PbB), delta -aminolevulinic acid in urine, ZPP, and final result were selected for study variables. Information on age, sex and type of industries were also collected. The results obtained were as follows;
1. The five years screening positive rate for general health examination was 13.7% and 5 years rate for C category which did not need further confirmative recheck was 5.2%.
2. While the proportion of liver disease in C category in primary general health examination was 49.2%, those of anemic disease and hypertensive disease were 23.3% and 27.5% respectively.
3. Five years screening positive rate and negative rate for storage battery industries, secondary smelting related industries, telecommunication related industries and other industries were 83.4% and 12,4%,´76.5% and 17.5%, 75.5% and 16.4%, and 79.5 and 14.4% respectively.
4. Screening positive rate for 5 years were increased as age increased from 9.0% (age less than :fl years) to 21.1% (age more than 40 years).
5. Only 22.1% of screening positive workers for 5 years general health examination were diay!n,r;ed as confirmed general diseases and 33.1% were revealed as normal. The rate of confirmed general diseases were differed by the type of industries and they were increased by increased.
6. I´he rate of confirmed general disease and non-disease in screening positive of liver, cardiovascular, tuberculosis and chest, anemic and renal disease category were 25.5% & 14.5%, 22.8% & 37.2%, 21.5% & 23.0%, 62.0% & 7.0%, and 16.5% & 53.9% respectively.
7. The `; years prevalence rate of confirmed general disease(D1/total workers) and prevalence rate of abnormal finding(C+D2) were 3.21% and 14.9% as a whole. By the screened disease category, those rate were 1.23% & 6.89% for liver disease, 1.17% & 5.43% for cardiovascular diseam., 0.96% & 1.64% for tuberculosis and chest disease, 0.76% & 1.02% for anemic dise., ;r and 0.03% & 0.06% for renal disease respectively.
8. The live years screening positive rate of all lead workers with the criteria of the mea,~:urcment of ZPP(>=100 ug/di) was 10.2% (female lead workers: 25.5%, male lead work(-r,,:8.l %). The positive rate has tendency to decrease year by year from 1989 to N.M. This phenomenon of decrease of rate was significant in storage battery industries, but not apparent in secondary smelting related industries.
9. The Iirol~ortion of lead poisoning (Dl) among screening positive of lead workers was 14.9% for 5 year special health examination and rest of screening positive were diagnosed as high lead absorption. While the proportion of Dr was 8.8% in storage battery industries, that was 23.9916 in secondary smelting related industries.
10. The distribution of screening positive lead workers by the group of ZPP for 5 years as a whole was 48.3%, 20.9%, 20.5% and 10.3% in the group of ZPP 100-149.a&/di, 150-199ug/df, 200-299ug/d2 and above 300gg/U, respectively.
11. The Proportion of screening positive lead workers whose blood lead were above 60ug/de and whose urine ALA were above 10mg/ e were 53.3% and 61.4%, respectively.
12. The 5 year overall prevalence rate of lead poisoning(Dr/all lead workers) was 0.142%(female lead workers:0.116%, male lead workers:0.145). For the rate of high lead absorption((C+D1)/ all lead workers) was 0.945%(female lead workers:2.36, male lead workers:0.756). The above prevalence was decreased in later year of study period than early year of study period.
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