Chromium Exposure and Hygienic Behaviors in Printing Workers in Southern Thailand

Table 2

Variables related to printing workers’ serum chromium levels and urinary chromium levels.

Characteristics	Number of exposed printing workers; ()	Mean ± SD of serum chromium levels (μg/L)	value	Mean ± SD of urinary chromium levels (μg/g creatinine)	value
General characteristics
Sex
Male	49 (65.3)	1.47	0.001	3.36 ± 1.90	0.039
Female	26 (34.7)	0.59 ± 0.19		1.91 ± 0.70
Age (years)
20–30	40 (53.3)	0.67 ± 0.52	0.067	1.71 ± 0.05	0.425
>30–40	24 (32.0)	1.47 ± 1.29		2.90 ± 1.80
>40–50	11 (14.7)	1.62 ± 1.21		1.92 ± 1.62
Education level
Secondary school	15 (20.0)	1.29 ± 1.13	0.614	0.31 ± 0.30	0.214
Vocational school	29 (38.7)	0.96 ± 1.17		0.36 ± 0.21
Bachelor’s degree or higher	31 (41.3)	1.19 ± 1.20		0.41 ± 0.30
Income (baht)
≤9000	48 (64.0)	1.16 ± 1.02	0.780	2.83 ± 1.19	0.926
>9000	27 (36.0)	1.28 ± 1.01		2.90 ± 1.97
Smoking cigarettes
Yes	35 (46.7)	1.37 ± 1.31	0.123	3.62 ± 2.17	0.034
No	40 (53.3)	0.92 ± 1.14		2.19 ± 1.55
Consuming alcohol
Yes	43 (57.3)	1.07 ± 1.23	0.635	3.05 ± 2.09	0.517
No	32 (42.7)	1.21 ± 1.20		2.61 ± 2.11
Occupational lifestyles
Duration of work (years)
>5	21 (28.0)	0.67 ± 0.18	0.012	0.57 ± 0.06	<0.001
≤5	54 (72.0)	1.31 ± 1.20		3.75 ± 0.99
Hours worked per day
>8	48 (64.0)	0.56 ± 0.27	<0.001	1.57 ± 0.21	<0.001
≤8	27 (36.0)	2.14 ± 1.30		5.15 ± 2.15
Days worked per week
>6	59 (78.8)	0.77 ± 0.02	<0.001	2.11 ± 0.71	<0.001
≤6	16 (21.3)	2.85 ± 0.91		5.59 ± 1.95
Position
Press or printing process	58 (77.3)	1.80 ± 1.36	<0.001	4.51 ± 1.30	<0.001
Other positions (prepress and postpress process)	17 (22.7)	0.26 ± 1.60		2.41 ± 0.02
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Mask
Yes	21 (28.0)	2.80 ± 0.842	<0.001	5.37 ± 2.33	<0.001
No	54 (72.0)	0.48 ± 0.582		1.85 ± 2.50
Gloves
Yes	45 (60.0)	1.65 ± 1.336	<0.001	3.87 ± 2.9	<0.001
No	30 (40.0)	0.35 ± 0.393		1.34 ± 1.12
Personal hygiene of workers
Eating snacks or drinking water at work
Always	57 (76.0)	1.41 ± 1.303	<0.001	3.47 ± 1.95	0.001
Sometimes	18 (24.0)	0.27 ± 0.178		1.92 ± 1.82
Washing hands before lunch
Always	35 (46.7)	1.60 ± 1.303	0.002	4.29 ± 3.91	<0.001
Sometimes	40 (53.3)	0.72 ± 1.029		1.60 ± 1.17
Washing hands after work
Always	15 (20.0)	2.33 ± 1.308	0.002	5.41 ± 2.43	0.004
Sometimes	60 (80.0)	0.83 ± 1.028		2.21 ± 1.41

Significant at .