OBJECTIVE:
To explore the effect of occupational
aluminum exposure on the
blood of
male workers.
METHODS:
A total of 249
male workers were selected as the
research subjects by
cluster sampling method in the electrolytic
workshop of an
aluminum plant.
Blood samples were collected for
determination of the
blood aluminum concentration and
blood routine. The subjects were divided into low-, medium-, and high-aluminuml groups based on the tertile of
blood aluminum level(P_(33) is 13.9 μg/L, P_(67) is 37.7 μg/L).
RESULTS:
The
red blood cell(RBC) count and
hemoglobin level in
patients of the high-
aluminum group were lower than that of the low-
aluminum group(P<0.05). There was no significant difference of the RBC count and
hemoglobin level of
patients in middle-
aluminum group compared with that of the low-and high-
aluminum groups(P>0.05). There was no statistical significant difference in
white blood cell count and
platelet count among the three groups(P>0.05). The results of the generalized
linear regression model showed that the higher the
blood aluminum level, the lower the RBC count and
hemoglobin level of
workers(P<0.05) after eliminating confounding factors such as age, length of service,
education level,
smoking, and
drinking.
CONCLUSION:
Occupational
aluminum exposure can cause a decrease of RBC count and
hemoglobin level with a
dose-effect relationship in
workers.