Metal Exposure-Related Welder’s Pneumoconiosis and Lung Function: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Container Factory of China

Siyun Zhou, Yue Wang, Chen Yu, Chunguang Ding, Jiayu He, Yi Liu, Huanqiang Wang () and Chunhui Ni ()
Additional contact information
Siyun Zhou: Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
Yue Wang: Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
Chen Yu: Department of Occupational Respiratory Disease, National Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China
Chunguang Ding: National Center for Occupational Safety and Health, Beijing 102300, China
Jiayu He: Department of Occupational Respiratory Disease, National Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China
Yi Liu: Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
Huanqiang Wang: Department of Occupational Respiratory Disease, National Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China
Chunhui Ni: Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: Long-term inhalation of welding fume at high exposure can cause welder’s pneumoconiosis, and metals in welding dust are associated with respiratory dysfunction. This cross-sectional study, which contains 384 Chinese male workers who were or had been working in a container factory, aimed to assess the potential risk of haemal and urinary metal content in welder’s pneumoconiosis. Further, we investigated their effects on lung function parameters. Metal content and lung function were measured using inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and spirometer, respectively. The concentration and metal content of respirable dust as well as total dust were collected at this container factory. Lung function of cases with welder’s pneumoconiosis was significantly worse, as indicated by lower values of FVC, FVC% predicted, FEV1, FEV1% predicted, MEF25% predicted, and MMEF% predicted ( p < 0.05). Results of logistic regression models showed that haemal Cr and Zn were risk factors of welder’s pneumoconiosis (OR = 4.98, 95%CI: 1.73–21.20, p = 0.009 for Cr; OR = 5.23, 95%CI: 1.56–41.08, p = 0.033 for Zn) after adjusted with age, BMI, working years, welding dust exposure years, and smoking status. Multiple linear regression models showed that several metals (haemal Cd and Pb; urinary Cd and Fe) were significantly associated with different lung function indices in the welder’s pneumoconiosis group. Compared to non-welders, welders were exposed to considerably higher levels of respirable dust, total dust, and six kinds of metals ( p < 0.05). In conclusion, haemal Cr and Zn are positively related to welder’s pneumoconiosis. Meanwhile, Cd and Pb might worsen lung function in welder’s pneumoconiosis.

Keywords: metal exposure; welder’s pneumoconiosis; lung function; working environment; association analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16809/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16809/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16809-:d:1003392

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().