Exposure to ambient heat and urolithiasis among outdoor workers in Guangzhou, China

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Ambient temperature; BP; CI; Case–control study; ECG; OHO; OR; Outdoor worker; PPE; Urolithiasis; WBGT; blood pressure; confidence interval; electrocardiogram; occupational health officer; odds ratio; personal protective equipment; wet bulb globe temperature.