Frequency distribution of basic characteristics in 568 male workers stratified by exposure categories
| Characteristic | Chemical exposure | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High (⩾5) (n=76) (%) | Moderate (⩾1 and <5) (n=191) (%) | Low (<1) (n=301) (%) | Total (n=568) (%) | |
| *p<0.05; **p<0.01 by χ2 test. | ||||
| Manufacturing factory | ||||
| PVC | 67.1 | 64.4 | 39.2 | 51.4** |
| VCM | 32.9 | 25.6 | 60.8 | 48.6** |
| Age ⩾40 years | 46.1 | 46.1 | 59.1 | 53.0* |
| Duration of employment ⩾15 years | 43.4 | 45.0 | 56.5 | 50.9* |
| Body mass index ⩾25.0 kg/m2 | 29.0 | 33.0 | 27.9 | 29.8 |
| Current cigarette smoking (yes) | 48.7 | 43.5 | 36.9 | 40.7 |
| Alcohol drinking (yes) | 23.7 | 8.4 | 9.6 | 11.1** |
| Positive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) | 19.7 | 15.7 | 17.6 | 17.3 |
| Positive hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) | 7.9 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
| Positive anti-hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV) | 1.3 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |