Health-Related Quality of Life of Former Lead Workers in Brazil

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Martha Carvalho Pereira Teixeira²  Fernando Martins Carvalho¹  Liliane Lins² 

[1] Post-Graduate Program in Health, Environment, and Work, School of Medicine, Federal University of Bahia, Largo do Terreiro de Jesus, s/n. Centro Histórico, Salvador, Bahia 40026-010, Brazil;

关键词: quality of life;    retirement;    occupational health;    metallurgy;    lead poisoning;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph121114084

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Little is known about the health-related quality of life of former lead workers. Using the Short-Form 36 Questionnaire (SF-36), a cross-section design study evaluated the health-related quality of life of 186 former workers of a lead smelter that operated in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Brazil, from 1960 to 1993, when it closed down. The smelter had very poor occupational and environmental hygiene standards. The health-related quality of life of former lead workers was low, compared to population-based and other nosological groups from Brazil. Former lead workers who indicated metal poisoning, difficulty getting another job and who could not get another job after dismissal by the smelter presented poorer health-related quality of life. Former lead workers with poor health-related quality of life form part of the huge occupational liability left by the Santo Amaro lead smelter.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.