Comparison of mean baseline haematological parameters and exposure levels among the exposed and comparison group workers stratified by gender
| Male | Female | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Exposed group (n=24) | Comparison group (n=67) | p value* | Exposed group (n=5) | Comparison group (n=23) | p value* |
| *Student’s t test. | ||||||
| †Abbreviations: RBC, red blood cells; WBC, white blood cells; MCV, mean corpuscular volume; MCH, mean corpuscular haemoglobin; MCHC, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration. | ||||||
| ‡2-ME exposure data of 9 of the 32 workers in the heat press operation. 2-ME was not detected in the administrative department. | ||||||
| §Urinary MAA concentration of 32 male workers in the heat press operation. MAA was not detected in the administrative department. | ||||||
| Haemoglobin (g/l) | 137 (185) | 155 (110) | <0.001 | 129 (261) | 124 (114) | 0.483 |
| Packed cell volume (%) | 41.8 (5.60) | 48.1 (3.22) | <0.001 | 39.4 (7.16) | 40.2 (3.01) | 0.694 |
| RBC† (1012/l) | 4.54 (0.72) | 5.47 (0.56) | <0.001 | 4.18 (0.77) | 4.72(0.57) | 0.085 |
| WBC† (109/l) | 7.48 (2.36) | 7.08 (1.77) | 0.383 | 7.90 (5.03) | 6.40(1.56) | 0.222 |
| Neutrophils (109/l) | 4.38 (1.93) | 4.51 (1.41) | 0.721 | 5.60 (4.26) | 4.05(1.26) | 0.135 |
| Lymphocytes (109/l) | 2.76 (0.77) | 2.17 (0.47) | <0.001 | 1.95 (0.75) | 1.98(0.47) | 0.907 |
| Platelets (109/l) | 305 (60.6) | 248 (59.1) | <0.001 | 258 (65.9) | 254 (78.5) | 0.920 |
| MCV† (fl) | 92.6 (6.79) | 88.6 (7.79) | 0.030 | 94.5 (4.61) | 86.2 (10.4) | 0.096 |
| MCH† (pg) | 30.5 (2.27) | 28.6 (2.95) | 0.007 | 30.9 (2.21) | 26.6 (3.71) | 0.020 |
| MCHC† (g/μl) | 32.9 (0.81) | 32.2 (1.08) | 0.009 | 32.7 (1.13) | 30.8 (1.24) | 0.005 |
| 2-ME, mean (SD) (ppm) | 41.9 (83.5) | 0.19 (0.30)‡ | <0.001 | 5.94 (3.59) | – | – |
| MAA, mean (SD) (mg/g creatinine) | 66.2 (46.9) | 1.02 (1.25)§ | <0.001 | 16.8 (9.40) | – | – |