Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Yong Bae Kim

8 Articles

The Prevalence of Asbestos Related Pleural Plaque among Residents Living Near Asbestos Mines in Korea: Yong Jin Lee, Chan Ho Park, Yong Bae Kim, Eun Chul Jang, Seung Hwan Kim, Young Sik Shin, Jeung Sook Kim; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2012;24(1):1-10. Published online March 31, 2012; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2012.24.1.1

OBJECTIVES
The investigation of the prevalence of pleural diseases in regards to those living within 1 km of 14 asbestos mines in Chungnam province.
METHODS
We enrolled 4,057 residents (male: 1,887, female: 2,170) living within 1km of asbestos mines in Chungcheong province. They received checkups from Soonchunhyang Environmental Health Center for asbestos related diseases between March 2009 and December 2009. Chest X-rays were taken from all subjects and read by two experts according to International Labor Organization guidelines. Those subjects suspected of asbestos related lesions were further checked with HRCT(high-resolution computed tomography). The determination was done by two experts after reviewing the resulting data.
RESULTS
The 4,057 exposed residents underwent the checkup, 859 of whom further underwent the HRCT(high-resolution computed tomography) check. The prevalence of pleural plaque was found to be 11.3% (29.2% non-occupational, 8.0% occupational) from the chest X-rays. The HRCT(high-resolution computed tomography) results revealed that 227 subjects (26.4%) out of the 859 positive subjects (110 (18.8%) non-occupational, 117 (42.9%) occupational) showed evidence of pleural plaque. The statistical analysis showed that the prevalence of pleural plaque increased with increases in age, residence time, and occupational family exposure to asbestos (p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
We recommend better control of asbestos in the soil and mines. We also recommend that all affected residents living near asbestos mines receive medical checkups as mandated by the asbestos health damage relief policy.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Incidence of Cancer and Asbestos-Related Diseases among Residents Living near Abandoned Asbestos Mines in South Korea: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using National Health Insurance Database
Kyeongmin Kwak, Kyung Ehi Zoh, Domyung Paek
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(3): 875. CrossRef
Exposure Assessment and Asbestosis Pulmonum among Inhabitants near Abandoned Asbestos Mines Using Deposited Dust
Hoki Ahn, Wonho Yang, Young Hwangbo, Yong Jin Lee
Korean Journal of Environmental Health Sciences.2015; 41(6): 369. CrossRef

32 View
0 Download
2 Crossref

The Effect of ALAD and VDR Polymorphism on the Hematopoietic Biomarkers in Lead Exposed Workers: Sung Soo Lee, Nam Soo Kim, Jin Ho Kim, Yong Bae Kim, Young Hwangbo, Hwa Sung Kim, Kyu Dong Ahn, Byung Kook Lee; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2005;17(4):343-351. Published online December 31, 2005; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2005.17.4.343

Abstract PDF: OBJECTIVES
This study was conducted with new workers who entered lead industries from 1992 to 2001 to evaluate the genetic susceptibility of ALAD (delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase) and VDR (vitamin D receptor) gene on health effect of lead exposure.
METHODS
Among the subjects of the database of lead industries at the Soonchunhyang University Institute of Industrial Medicine, only new workers were selected for this study. The total of eligible workers for this category was 3,540 workers, including non lead exposed workers of same lead industries. From stored blood in specimen bank of Soonchunhyang University, genotype of ALAD and VDR were measured using PCR method. Variables for this study were blood lead as an index of lead exposure, ZPP (zinc protoporphyrin in blood), urine ALA (delta-aminolevulinic acid), and hemoglobin as an index of hematopoietic effect of lead. Information on sex, job duration, and weight were collected for personal information. The data were analyzed using SAS (version 8.2) with descriptive analysis of t-test and multiple regression analysis.
RESULTS
Among 3,540 new employed study subjects during period of 1992-2001, 3,204 workers (90.5%) had ALAD genotype 1-1, while 336 workers (9.5%) had variant type of ALAD (1-2 or 2-2). For VDR genotype, 2,903 workers (89.7%) out of total tested 3,238 workers were belonged to type bb and 335 workers (10.5%) were type bB or BB. The distribution of genotype of ALAD and VDR were not different according to the job duration in male workers, but were different in female workers. The effect of ALAD and VDR genotype on blood lead were positively significant in the analysis of all cumulative data of new employed workers for 10 years. The effect of VDR genotype on blood lead were stronger than that of ALAD. While the variant ALAD gene made decrease of mean ZPP and ALA in urine after controlling for blood lead and other covariate, the variant VDR gene made increased the mean ZPP and ALA in urine in all cumulative data analysis and cross sectional analysis by job duration. For hemoglobin, ALAD and VDR genotype did not affect the mean value.
CONCLUSIONS
From the above our results, we found that ALAD and VDR genotype exerted significant effect in various way. We confirmed that the finding of a cross sectional study of protective effect of variant ALAD on the effect of blood lead on blood ZPP in our retrospective study design. It was found that VDR did not exert protective effect for lead exposure as the variant ALAD did.

18 View
0 Download

A Study on Liver Function Indices in Male Lead Workers: Young Hwangbo, Yong Bae Kim, Gap Soo Lee, Sung Soo Lee, Kyu Dong Ahn, Byung Kook Lee; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2002;14(3):270-279. Published online September 30, 2002; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2002.14.3.270

Abstract PDF

OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the effects of lead on the liver function indices in male lead workers.
METHODS
The study comprised of 274 lead workers and 113 non-lead workers who were confirmed not to have HBsAg (Hepatitis B surface Antigen). Blood lead (PbB), blood zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) and urinary delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALAU) were selected as parameters for monitoring exposure to lead while aspartate aminotransferase (SGOT), alanine aminotransferase (SGPT) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (gamma-GTP) were chosen as parameters for monitoring liver function. Demographic information, such as age, smoking and drinking histories were collected. The duration of work for the lead workers, and their BMI(body mass index), were also obtained.
RESULTS
After adjusting for possible confounders {age, BMI, work duration, smoking (pack-year) and drinking (bottles of Soju consumed per week)}, blood lead was observed to be a significant variable from the logistic regression analysis of the abnormalities of SGOT( >35 IU/L), with an odds ratio of 1.04 (95 % CI, 1.008-1.066). The amount of alcohol drunk (odds ratio 1.28: 95 % CI, 1.054-1.549) and BMI (odds ratio 1.24: 95 % CI, 1.075-1.421) were also significant variables. From the multiple linear regression analyses, blood lead was significantly, and positively, associated with SGOT (p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that exposure to lead may have an effect on SGOT in male lead workers.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Effect of Pork Consumption on Renal and Hematochemical Indices in Workers Occupationally Exposed to Unclean Environments
Chan-Kyu Han, Jeong-Hae Rho, Bog-Hieu Lee
Korean Journal for Food Science of Animal Resources.2008; 28(1): 91. CrossRef

21 View
0 Download
1 Crossref

Associations between Lead Exposure and Dose and Protein Kinase C Activation in Erythrocytes Among Lead Workers: Kyu Yoon Hwang, Young Hwangbo, Hyun Cheol Ahn, Yong Bae Kim, Gap Soo Lee, Sung Soo Lee, Kyu Dong Ahn, Byung Kook Lee; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2001;13(4):369-375. Published online December 31, 2001; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2001.13.4.369

Abstract PDF: OBJECTIVES
Protein kinase C(PKC), a calcium and phospholipid dependent enzyme, is activated by lead in vitro at picomolar concentrations. However, the effect of lead on PKC has never been studied in a human population. The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether lead exposure was associated with PKC mediated-phosphorylation in erythrocytes among lead workers.
METHODS
Two hundred and twelve lead workers were studied. To determine the levels of phosphorylation in vivo, an in vitro back phosphorylation technique was used by adding PKC and gamma-32P to preparations of erythrocyte membranes. We measured back phosphorylations of erythrocyte membrane proteins, spectrin, and 52 kDa and 48 kDa, as an indirect measure of PKC activation in vivo.
RESULTS
The mean(SD) age and exposure duration was 39.1(10.0) years and 8.1(6.5) years, respectively. Tibial lead ranged from 0.8 to 290.8 microgram Pb/g bone mineral with a mean(SD) of 34.4(35.2) microgram Pb/g bone mineral. The means(SD) of back phosphorylation levels of the three proteins were 540.7(304.1), 198.6(78.2), and 247.7(83.3) photostimulated luminescence units(PSL), respectively, by phosphoimager. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, tibial lead and exposure duration were significantly and inversely associated with back phosphorylation levels. One unit of increase in tibial lead(1 microgram Pb/g bone mineral) is associated with a decline in spectrin, band 4.9 52 kDa, and band 4.9 48 kDa back phosphorylation levels by 1.4(P<0.05), 0.34(P<0.05), and 0.47(P<0.01), respectively. However, there were no associations between the back phosphorylation levels and either blood lead or ZPP levels.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that the PKC activity in erythrocytes is increased by chronic lead exposure and that erythrocyte membrane protein phosphorylation may be a biomarker of lead exposure.

20 View
0 Download

The Effect of ALAD Polymorphism on the Relationship of Blood and Bone Lead with Hematologic Biomarkers in Lead Exposed Workers: Hwa Sung Kim, Sung Soo Lee, Yong Bae Kim, Young Hwangbo, Gap Soo Lee, Kyu Dong Ahn, Bong Ki Jang, Byung Kook Lee; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2001;13(1):75-86. Published online March 31, 2001; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2001.13.1.75

Abstract PDF: OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the effect of ALAD polymorphism on the relationship of blood and bone lead with hematologic biomarkers in lead exposed workers, 450 lead exposed workers and 85 non-lead exposed workers were selected.
METHODS
Blood lead and tibia bone lead were selected as parameters of lead exposure and blood ZPP, urinary ALA (ALAU), hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Hct) were chosen as parameters of hematologic effect of lead exposure. Genotype of each subject was assayed and expressed as ALAD1 and ALAD2. Demographic information such as sex, age and personal habit of smoking and drinking were collected. Job duration of lead exposed workers was also obtained.
RESULTS
The overall prevalence of the variant allele, ALAD2 in lead exposed workers was 9.6 %(43 out of 450 lead workers) which was not differed from control workers (9.4 % : 8 out of 85). The means of tibial lead and blood ZPP in lead workers with ALAD2 were lower than those of lead workers with ALAD1, but the differences were not statistically significant. After adjusting for possible confounders (sex, job duration, BMI, drinking and smoking status) only blood lead and bone lead contributed negatively to the level of hemoglobin with statistical significance without any contribution of ALAD genotype. On the other hand, no significant effect of blood lead, bone lead and ALAD genotype were observed on the level of hematocrit after controlling possible confounder. ALAD genotype in the multiple regression analysis of blood lead and bone lead with log transformed urinary ALA (LogALAU) after adjusting for possible confounders showed significant main and interaction effect on LogALAU simultaneously, which resulted lower LogALAU in lead exposed workers of ALAD2 than ALAD1. It was also observed only main effect of ALAD gene type on blood ZPP after adjusting possible confounder resulting lower ZPP in lead workers of ALAD2 than ALAD1.
CONCLUSIONS
With above results, it was found that ALAD polymorphism did not affect on the level of hemoglobin and hematocrit, but ALAD polymorphism made significant effect on the association of blood and bone lead with urinary ALA and blood ZPP. The lower urinary ALA and blood ZPP in ALAD2 lead workers suggested that ALAD2 genotype may be supportive for the protective effect of lead.

20 View
0 Download

The Relationship between Psychosocial Distress and Lead Exposure Indices in Lead Workers: Yong Bae Kim, Hyun Cheol Ahn, Young Hwangbo, Gap Soo Lee, Kyu Yoon Hwang, Sung Soo Lee, Kyu Dong Ahn, Byung Kook Lee; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2000;12(1):128-138. Published online March 31, 2000; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2000.12.1.128

Abstract PDF: OBJECTIVES
This study was carried out to assess psychosocial distress of lead workers and to examine the relationship between lead exposure indices and psychosocial distress.
METHODS
The study design was cross-sectional and research subjects were 234 lead workers in primary smelting industry. General characteristics, job characteristics and social support were obtained by self-administered questionnaire and history taking. Psychosocial distress was measured using PWI(Psychosocial Well-being Index), a 45-item self-administered instrument. Blood lead(PbB), zinc protoporphyrin(ZPP), -aminolevulinic acid in urine(ALAU) were selected as indicators of lead exposure.
RESULTS
There was significant difference in PWI according to lead exposure level and job characteristics. The results of correlation analysis showed that PWI was significantly correlated with PbB(r=0.203, P=0.002).
CONCLUSIONS
Our results supported the association between lead exposure and psychosocial distress. The inclusion of psychosocial distress measurement as a special health examination for lead workers was highly recommended for the effective health management.

21 View
0 Download

Occupational Lead Exposure of Storage Battery Industry Workers in Korea: Pil Kyu Kang, Yong Bae Kim, Ik Soo Ahn, Jong Kyu Lee, Ku Seok Han, Hwa Sung Kim, Kyu Yoon Hwang, Gap Soo Lee, Kyu Dong Ahn, Byung Kook Lee; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1998;10(4):438-449. Published online December 31, 1998; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.1998.10.4.438

Abstract PDF

In order to investigate the level of lead absorption of lead workers and to evaluate the effect of blood lead on blood zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) and prevalence of lead related symptoms, 1,782 lead workers(male: 1,506, female: 276) from 8 storage battery industries were studied. Selected variables as indices of lead exposure were blood lead, blood ZPP, and hemoglobin (HB). Fifteen questionnaires of lead related symptoms were provided to all lead workers and filled up by themselves and confirmed by medical doctors. Personal variables such as age, work duration, smoking and drinking habits were also collected. The results were follows : 1. While the mean blood lead of lead workers of all lead companies was 31.0+/-3.0 ug/100ml (male: 31.5+/-2.9 ug/100ml, female: 27.9+/-3.3 ug/100m1), the mean blood ZPP of all lead workers was 66.7+/-4.1 ug/100ml (male: 59.6+/-3.3, female: 105.3+/-3.0 ug/100ml). The mean hemoglobin of male lead workers was 15.7+/-.3 gm/100ml and that of female lead workers was 13.0+/-.3 gm/100ml. 2. The percentage of lead workers whose blood lead was over 60.0 ug/100m1 and 40.0-59.9 ug/100ml was 2.81 % and 19.08 %, respectively. On the other hand, the percentage of lead workers whose blood ZPP was over 150 ug/100ml and 100-149 ug/100ml was 5.89 % and 8.31 %, respectively. 3. The slopes of simple linear regression of blood lead (independent variable) and blood ZPP in female lead workers was significantly steeper than that of male lead workers. The slope of storage battery industries with better working condition in terms of low air concentration of lead were less steeper than those with poor working condition with high mean air concentration of lead. 4. Stepwise multiple regression analysis, using overall symptom prevalence as a dependent variables, blood lead, blood ZPP, hemoglobin, age, work duration, drinking and smoking habits as independent variables, indicated that only drinking habit and age were significantly contributed to the dependent variable.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Occupational Lead Exposure from Indoor Firing Ranges in Korea
Won-Ju Park, Suk-Ho Lee, Se-Ho Lee, Hye-Sik Yoon, Jai-Dong Moon
Journal of Korean Medical Science.2016; 31(4): 497. CrossRef
Blood lead levels of Korean lead workers in 2003–2011
Ji-Hye Kim, Eun-A Kim, Dong-Hee Koh, Kiwhan Byun, Hyang-Woo Ryu, Sang-Gil Lee
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2014;[Epub] CrossRef

26 View
0 Download
2 Crossref

Some Renal Function Indices in Workers Occupationally Exposed to Lead: Je Sung Nam, Yong Bae Kim, Hyun Cheol Ahn, Hwa Sung Kim, Gap Soo Lee, Kyu Yoon Hwang, Sung Soo Lee, Kyu Dong Ahn, Byung Kook Lee; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1998;10(2):139-148. Published online May 31, 1998; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.1998.10.2.139

Abstract PDF

The influence of lead exposure on renal function was studied. Three hundred forty two male lead exposed workers who worked in 3 storage battery factories, 5 secondary smelting factories and 3 litharge making factories, and 60 male control workers who were not exposed to lead occupationally were chosen for this study. Blood lead (PbB), zinc protoporphyrin in whole blood (ZPP) and delta-aminolevulinic acid in urine (DALA) were selected as indicators of lead exposure. As indicators of renal function blood urea nitrogen(BUN) , serum creatinine(S-Cr), serum uric acid (S-UA), N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase in urine (NAG) and urine protein (U-TP) were selected. While the mean values of lead exposure indicators of lead workers were significantly different from non-exposed ones, the mean values of renal function indicators of exposed except S-UA were significantly different from non-exposed. The frequency of workers whose value of renal function indicators were over the nor mal criteria (BUN>20 mg/dl ; S-Cr>1.2 mg/dl ; S-UA>7.0 mg/dl ; NAG>8.0 U/liter; U-TP>8.0 mg/dl) by the level of lead absorption in terms of PbB, ZPP and DALA were calculated. Age adjusted odds ratio of over the normal value of BUN and NAG were statistically significant by the level of ZPP and that of BUN only showed the dose-dependant relationship. But the frequency of over the normal criteria of renal function indicators were not increased by the level of PbB and DALA. On stepwise multiple regression using renal function indicators as a dependent variable and each lead exposure indicator and age as independent variables, only BUN, NAG and U-TP were contributed by the lead exposure indicators. It was found that only NAG of renal function indices was most reliable indicator who showed dose-response relationship with lead exposure and the measurement of NAG for lead workers whose relatively high exposure is highly recommended.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Effect of Pork Consumption on Renal and Hematochemical Indices in Workers Occupationally Exposed to Unclean Environments
Chan-Kyu Han, Jeong-Hae Rho, Bog-Hieu Lee
Korean Journal for Food Science of Animal Resources.2008; 28(1): 91. CrossRef

21 View
0 Download
1 Crossref

Author index