Effects of Lead Exposure in Printing Houses on Immune and Neurobehavioral Functions of Women

Effects of Lead Exposure in Printing Houses on Immune and Neurobehavioral Functions of Women: Niu QIAO, et al. Department of Occupational Health, Shanxi Medical University, China—The object of this study was the effect of lead (Pb) exposure on immune and neurobehavioral parameters of 16 women with a mean age of 34 yr who worked for an average of 12 yr in three printing houses in Taiyuan (Shanxi Province, China). The women were not occupationally exposed to toxic agents other than Pb. Mean air Pb in the printing houses was about 25 μg/m, mean blood Pb of the workers was 28.6 μg/dl and that of the referents 12.4. The referent group of 36 women, resident in the same industrialised and traffic busy city, was of similar age, working activity, lifestyle and education of the Pb-exposed group. The Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery (NCTB) was utilised; some of the NCTB scores, including the simple reaction time, Digit Symbol, Pursuit Aiming II (PA) and correct PA , were significantly lower in the Pb exposed group, whereas all the negative Profile Mood States (POMS) scores were slightly higher in the workers (some with a significant difference) indicating a negative psychological effect of Pb. Lymphocyte subsets were determined in 16 of the Pb exposed women and in 16 referent women with similar age and lifestyle of the whole group of 36 controls. CD4-CD45RO “memory” T lymphocytes of the workers were significantly higher than those of control women, whereas NK and B CD3-HLA-DR and NK CD16-CD56 lymphocytes of the Pb exposed women were much lower than those of the referent group. We suggest that the reduction of blood CD16-CD56 lymphocytes in the workers in the printing houses may depend either on a direct effect of Pb exposure on the immune system or on an effect mediated by the neuroendocrine system. Received Feb 5, 2001; Accepted July 9, 2001 Correspondence to: P. Boscolo, Cattedra di Medicina del Lavoro, Via dei Vestini, Università di Chieti, 66100, Chieti, Italy (J Occup Health 2001; 43: 271–277)