연취급 근로자들의 사회 심리적 스트레스가 연노출 수준에 미치는 영향 = Effect of psychosocial distress on lead exposure indices of lead workers

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Objectives : This study was carried out to assess psychosocial distress of lead workers and to examine the effect of psychosocial distress on lead exposure indices.
Methods : The study design was cross-sectional and research subjects were 246 lead workers in primary smelting industry. General characteristics, job characteristics and social support were obtained by self-administered questionnaire and history taking. Psychosocial distress was measured using PWI(Psycosocial Well-being Index), a 45-item self-administered instrument. Blood lead(PbB), zinc protoporphyrin(ZPP), δ-aminolevulinic acid in urine(ALAU) were selected as indicators of lead exposure.
Results : The crude odds ratio of group whose PbB was 20-39 ㎍/㎗ was 3.475(95% CI : 1.243-6.404) and that of group whose PbB was above 40 ㎍/㎗ was 7.586(95% CI : 1.487-15.611). The odds ratio of each group adjusted age, wages, job characteristics, social support, smoking and alcohol drinking habit were still significant.
Conclusions : Our results supported the association between lead exposure and psychosocial distress. The inclusion of psychosocial distress measurement as a special health examination for lead workers is highly recommended for the effective prevention of stress in lead workers.