Summary
In a group of men representing the general population and workers occupationally exposed to lead, we measured Pb-B concentrations of 1,828 men and the erythrocyte ALAD activities of 1,327 men and compared them with subjective symptoms as assessed by the Cornell Medical Index (CMI). No statistically significant association between symptoms and either Pb-B concentrations or ALAD activities was found up to levels of 70μg/100 ml. At higher Pb-B levels the data were insufficient to allow for conclusions. The specificity of the CMI with regard to classical lead-related symptoms is low, and thus the results should be interpreted with caution, perhaps only as an evidence against the suitability of the CMI for this kind of study.
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