Blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors of long-term exposure to lead.

The coronary risk profile was studied for 96 heavily exposed lead smelter workers employed between 9 and 45 years and for a reference group not exposed to lead but comparable with respect to age, sex, height, weight, social grouping, occupational status, and alcohol and tobacco consumption. The lead smelter workers had a little higher diastolic blood pressure and significantly more ischemic electrocardiographic changes, and their high-density lipoprotein levels were lower than the corresponding values of the reference group. The lead workers with electrocardiographic changes had higher blood pressures than the referents with corresponding changes. These findings indicate a higher coronary risk profile for the examined lead smelter workers. The study supports the hypothesis of a positive association between lead exposure and arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure.