Assessment of coronary heart disease risk among viscose rayon workers exposed to carbon disulfide at concentrations of about 30 mg/m3.

Total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and two coronary heart disease risk indices were assessed for a group of 70 male viscose rayon workers exposed to carbon disulfide (CS2) and individually matched for age, height, and weight with 70 male referents. Environmental CS2 levels were below 35 mg/m3 during 1972-1979. The study, undertaken to define some risk factors for coronary heart disease and to determine some parameters of lipid metabolism, found no differences between the group of CS2-exposed workers and the referents. Apart from a possible toxic effect directly induced by CS2 on the myocardium, the results suggest that CS2 exposure up to about 30 mg/m3 does not promote coronary atherosclerosis and hence does not increase coronary heart disease by this mechanism.