Early diagnosis of health damage in arc welders based on their serum ferritin level
Kazuaki Sera, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Chiyo Hayashi, Hisahide Nishio
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DOI: 10.4236/ojim.2011.13016   PDF    HTML   XML   4,777 Downloads   8,300 Views   Citations

Abstract

To develop a method for the early diagnosis of health damage due to arc welding, we measured serum ferritin in 96 general employees and 320 arc welders in Company A. A positive correlation was observed between age and the serum ferritin level in the young group (age, 20 - 44 years) among the general employees. The mean serum ferritin level in the general employees was 119 ± 56 ng/ml. When the mean ± 2.5 SD was used as the standard value, ferritin levels > 260 ng / ml could be regarded as high. Based on this standard value, high ferritin levels were observed in 7 (6.6%) of 106 young arc welders in Company A but none of the general employees. Chest X-ray films showed minimal abnormality in one of 7 young arc welders who showed high ferritin levels. These results suggest that the determination of the serum ferritin level is useful for the early diagnosis of health damage due to arc welding.

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Sera, K. , Nishimura, Y. , Hayashi, C. and Nishio, H. (2011) Early diagnosis of health damage in arc welders based on their serum ferritin level. Open Journal of Internal Medicine, 1, 77-79. doi: 10.4236/ojim.2011.13016.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

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