Assessment of some renal indices in people occupationally exposed to lead

Exposure to lead has been reported to have adverse health implications. An assessment of renal function in people occupationally exposed to lead was carried out using the following biochemical markers urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate. A total of 53 test subjects (mean age 30.9 +/- 7.7) were randomly selected among some workers occupationally exposed to lead in Osogbo city and 42 apparently healthy subjects (mean age 30.1 +/- 1.2) were used as controls. The plasma urea, creatinine, chloride and bicarbonate concentration were determined using modified Berthelot method, Jaffe's reaction, Schales and Schales method and back titration methods, respectively. The plasma sodium and potassium concentrations were determined using flame emission spectrophotometry while blood lead level was also determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The result showed significant increases in mean plasma concentration of creatinine (84.9 +/- 13.6-97.4 +/- 28.7 mmol/L), sodium (131.9 +/- 3.9-134.8 +/- 3.7 mmol/L) and chloride (98.2 +/- 4.0-100.4 +/- 3.9 mmol/L) in test subjects when compared with controls (p < 0.05). Furthermore, significant increases (p < 0.01) were observed in mean plasma concentration of urea (4.7 +/- 1.2-5.7 +/- 1.3 mmol/L) and blood lead levels (18.5 +/- 3.5-69.7 +/- 13.2 mg/L) in test subjects in comparison with controls. In contrast, there were no significant differences observed when mean plasma potassium and bicarbonate levels in test subjects were compared with controls (p > 0.05). These results indicate that occupational exposure to lead may compromise renal function.