[Arterial hypertension and alcoholism among workers in an oil refinery]. / Hipertensão arterial e alcoolismo em trabalhadores de uma refinaria de petróleo.

The role of alcohol ingestion in the incidence of arterial hypertension has not been completely established. In addition, there are few studies addressing this point in relation to populations of workers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between alcoholism and arterial hypertension among workers in an oil refinery in Mataripe, Bahia, Brazil, from 1986 to 1993. We designed a retrospective cohort study with a 7-year follow-up in a stratified systematic sample of 335 workers from the refinery. Arterial hypertension was diagnosed based on blood pressure measurements done during routine medical examinations. At the beginning of follow-up, three groups were defined using the CAGE test of alcohol dependency: nondrinkers (n = 121), CAGE-negative workers (n = 116), and CAGE-positive workers (n = 98). In comparison with the CAGE-negative group, the CAGE-positive group had both greater relative risk and greater attributable risk for developing arterial hypertension (RR = 2.58; AR = 24.95 per 1,000 person-years). The CAGE-positive group also had greater risks compared to nondrinkers (RR = 2.06; AR = 20.97 per 1,000 person-years). The attributable fractions for the same two comparisons of groups were 61% and 51%, respectively. Rate standardization by age or smoking habit did not substantially change the results. Alcoholism is an important risk factor for arterial hypertension.

[Lead poisoning: Zinc protoporphyrin in blood of children from Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, Brazil]. / Intoxicação pelo chumbo: Zinco protoporfirina no sangue de crianças de Santo Amaro da Purificação e de Salvador, BA.

A cross-sectional epidemiological study has investigated lead poisoning among all the 101 children aged 1 to 5 years, living at less then 500 m from a lead smelter which has been operating since 1960 in Santo Amaro da Purificação, State of Bahia, Brazil. Lead poisoning was evaluated by determining the concentrations of zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) in whole blood. Results were compared with those obtained from 98 children of the same age range, in a nursery from Salvador, capital of the State of Bahia. In Santo Amaro, ZPP geometric mean was 65.5 mg/dl (geometric S.D. = 1.7), much higher, therefore, than the normal threshold of 30 microg/dl recommended by the CDC-USA. A child was excluded from statistical analyses because of very high ZPP level: 789 mg/dl. In Salvador, ZPP geometric mean was 31.0 mg/dl (geometric SD = 1.6). "Extremely elevated" ZPP levels (above 156 mg/dl) were observed in 8% of the children from Santo Amaro and in none (0%) of the children from Salvador, this statistical difference being highly significant. Anaemia was present among 35.0% of the children from Santo Amaro and among 25.5% of those from Salvador. One year-old children showed the highest levels of ZPP and anaemia. No marked statistical association was found between ZPP levels and anaemia. Lead contamination of this children population remained in a permanently high level during, at least, the period from 1980 to 1992. In December, 1993 the lead smelter has definitively ceased its industrial activities in Santo Amaro da Purificação.