Journal of Biological Sciences1727-30481812-5719Asian Network for Scientific Information10.3923/jbs.2011.454.458Sadeghniiat-HaghighiKhosro BahaediniLeila S. MehrdadRamin MeysamiAli Pasha ChavoshiFarzaneh SoltaniShahin 72011117The effect of lead on blood pressure is still controversial in spite of the numerous studies which have been conducted in the recent years. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of exposure to lead on blood pressure among workers in a battery recycling factory in Iran in 2008. In this cross sectional study, 165 male workers were enrolled. Their blood pressure, blood lead level and chelatable blood lead were measured for all subjects. Mean age of the participants was 39.41±7.23 years. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 121.57±7.23 and 81.84±8.73 mmHg, respectively. Blood lead level ranged from 15.6 to 85.6 μg dL-1 with a mean level of 44.04±16.05 μg dL-1. There was no significant difference in blood pressure between subgroups with different blood lead levels. After adjusting for potential confounders (age, work duration, cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, hemoglobin, creatinine, smoking and BMI) by multiple regression analysis, a borderline significant (p = 0.057) association was found between systolic blood pressure and blood lead concentration. There was no association between diastolic blood pressure and blood lead. Body mass index and smoking were positive predictors of blood pressure. Hemoglobin concentration and cholesterol were predictors of diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure showed an increase of 4 mmHg in patients with higher chelatable lead levels (p = 0.05). Present study showed that blood lead might not serve as a good predictor of blood pressure changes and there was no statistically significant association between blood lead and blood pressure. Present finding added to existing body of knowledge that blood lead possibly does not affect blood pressure.]]>Bernard, B.P. and C.E. Becker,198826134Goyer, R.A.,1993100177187Schwartz, B.S. and W.F. Stewart,2000558592Fenga, C., A. Cacciola, L.B. Martino, S.R. Calderaro and C. Di Nola,200644304309Schwartz, J.,1988781522Menditto, A., G. Morisi, A. Spagnolo and A. Menotti,1994102107111Wu, T.N., C.N. Shen, K.N. Ko, C.F. Guu and H.J. Gau et al.,199625791796Chu, N.F., S.H. Liou, T.N. Wu and P.Y. Chang,1999563033Nawrot, T.S., L. Thijs, E.M. Den Hond, H.A. Roels and J.A. Staessen,200216123131Lee, B.K., G.S. Lee, W.F. Stewart, K.D. Ahn and D. Simon et al.,2001109383389Todd, A.C., B.K. Lee, G.S. Lee, K.D. Ahn, E.L. Moshier and B.S. Schwartz,2001587380Tepper, A., C. Mueller, M. Singal and K. Sagar,2001406372Telisman, S., A. Pizent, J. Jurasovic and P. Cvitkovic,200445446454Ademuyiwa, O., R.N. Ugbaja, F. Idumebor and O. Adebawo,20052005Sharp, D.S., J. Osterloh, C.E. Becker, B. Bernard and A.H. Smith et al.,198878131137Nash, D., L. Magder, M. Lustberg, R.W. Sherwin, R.J. Rubin, R.B. Kaufmann and E.K. Silbergeld,200328915231532Muntner, P., A. Menke, K.B. DeSalvo, F.A. Rabito and V. Batuman,200516521552161Rahman, S., N. Khalid, J.H. Zaidi, S. Ahmad and M.Z. Iqbal,20069732737Martin, D., T.A. Glass, K. Bandeen-Roche, A.C. Todd, W. Shi and B.S. Schwartz,2006163467478Kaewboonchoo, O., S. Saleekul, A. Powwattana and T. Kawai,200745590594Khalil-Manesh, F., H.C. Gonick, E.W. Weiler, B. Prins, M.A. Weber and R.E. Purdy,19936723729Vupputuri, S., J. He, P. Muntner, L.A. Bazzano, P.K. Whelton and V. Batuman,200341463468Cheng, Y., J. Schwartz, D. Sparrow, A. Aron, S.T. Weiss and H. Hu,2001153164171Batuman, V., E. Landy, J.K. Maesaka and R.P. Wedeen,19833091721