Objective To analyze the relationship between decreasing values of blood lead and the elevation of nerve conduction velocity in occupational lead exposure workers.
Methods Blood lead levels and the conduction velocity of motion nerve and sense nerve of 60 occupational lead exposure workers and 91 controls were measured in 2007 and 2009. Co-variance and correlation analyses were applied to assess the relationship.
Results The blood lead value in the lead exposure workers dropped remarkably from (657.9& #177;216.4)μg/L in 2007 to (345.8& #177;169.2)μg/L in 2009, and showed no age or gender differences. The sense nerve conduction velocity of the lead exposure workers also increased remarkably in 2009 than in 2007 (P<0.05). Lower blood lead levels were correlated with higher sense velocities of median nerve, ulnar nerve, and superficial peroneal nerve, and the correlation coefficients were 0.365, 0.276, and 0.17, respectively. The nerve conduction velocity of the control group had no remarkable change in 2009 as compared with 2007.
Conclusion There is a correlation between the decreasing value of blood lead and the increasing value of sense velocity. Controlling the blood lead level in time could restore sense conduction velocity.
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