TY - JOUR
T1 - Exposure to ambient heat and urolithiasis among outdoor workers in Guangzhou, China
AU - Luo, Haiming
AU - Turner, Lyle R.
AU - Hurst, Cameron
AU - Mai, Haiming
AU - Zhang, Yurun
AU - Tong, Shilu
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors are indebted to Guangzhou Shipbuilding Company for their assistance and support in this study. ST was supported by a NHMRC Research Fellowship .
PY - 2014/2/15
Y1 - 2014/2/15
N2 - Objectives: To assess the impact of exposure to ambient heat on urolithiasis among outdoor workers in a subtropical city of China. Methods: The 2003-2010 health check data of a shipbuilding company in Guangzhou, China were acquired. 190 cases and 760 matched controls were involved in this study. We assessed the relationship between exposure to ambient heat and urolithiasis for different occupations using conditional logistic regression. Results: Spray painters were most likely to develop urolithiasis (OR. = 4.4; 95% CI: 1.7, 11.4), followed by smelter workers (OR. = 4.0; 95% CI: 1.8, 9.2), welders (OR. = 3.7; 95% CI: 1.9, 7.2), production security and quality inspectors (OR. = 2.7; 95% CI: 1.4, 3.0), and assemblers (OR. = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1, 4.3). Overall, outdoor workers were more likely to present with urolithiasis compared with indoor employees (p<. 0.05). In addition, workers with longer cumulative exposure time (OR. = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.2, 1.8) and abnormal blood pressure (OR. = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.0, 2.5) had higher risk for urolithiasis. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate a significant association between exposure to ambient heat and urolithiasis among outdoor working populations. Public health intervention strategies should be developed to specifically target outdoor occupations.
AB - Objectives: To assess the impact of exposure to ambient heat on urolithiasis among outdoor workers in a subtropical city of China. Methods: The 2003-2010 health check data of a shipbuilding company in Guangzhou, China were acquired. 190 cases and 760 matched controls were involved in this study. We assessed the relationship between exposure to ambient heat and urolithiasis for different occupations using conditional logistic regression. Results: Spray painters were most likely to develop urolithiasis (OR. = 4.4; 95% CI: 1.7, 11.4), followed by smelter workers (OR. = 4.0; 95% CI: 1.8, 9.2), welders (OR. = 3.7; 95% CI: 1.9, 7.2), production security and quality inspectors (OR. = 2.7; 95% CI: 1.4, 3.0), and assemblers (OR. = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1, 4.3). Overall, outdoor workers were more likely to present with urolithiasis compared with indoor employees (p<. 0.05). In addition, workers with longer cumulative exposure time (OR. = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.2, 1.8) and abnormal blood pressure (OR. = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.0, 2.5) had higher risk for urolithiasis. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate a significant association between exposure to ambient heat and urolithiasis among outdoor working populations. Public health intervention strategies should be developed to specifically target outdoor occupations.
KW - Ambient temperature
KW - Case-control study
KW - Outdoor worker
KW - Urolithiasis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84890834864&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.11.042
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.11.042
M3 - Article
C2 - 24361748
VL - 472
SP - 1130
EP - 1136
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
ER -