Background: Owing to inconsistent epidemiologic evidence and the presence of confounding factors, the relation between occupational noise exposure and hypertension still remained unclear. We aimed to assess whether Chinese coal miners were at risk of developing hypertension and noise induced hearing loss (NIHL), and whether occupational noise exposure was a risk factor of hypertension. Methods: A questionnaire was designed to collect information from 738 study participants, all of whom were employees from the Datun Xuzhou Coal Company. The participants were divided into a noise-exposed group and a control group based on the noise level to which they were exposed in the workplace. The differences in the mean of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were compared between the noise-exposed and control groups. Also the prevalence and age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] of audiometric deficit and hypertension was compared in the study. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the relation between occupational noise level and hypertension while controlling for potential confounding factors. Results: Hypertension was more prevalent in noise-exposed group than the control group, 29.2% vs. 21.2% (P=0.012). The noise-exposed group faced an increased risk of hypertension (age-adjusted OR =1.52, 95% CI =1.07–2.15) when the control group was used as reference. The mean values of SBP and DBP of the noise-exposed groups were significantly higher than the control group (P=0.006 and P=0.002 respectively). Hearing loss at low frequencies was significantly more prevalent in the noise-exposed group than the control group, 12.8% vs. 7.4% (P=0.015), while the noise-exposed group faced the increased risk of hearing loss at low frequencies (age-adjusted OR =1.81, 95% CI =1.10–2.96). L_{EX, 8h} (OR =1.036, 95% CI =1.012–1.060) was an independent risk of hypertension when controlling for potential confounding factors. Conclusions: We found that the occupational noise had an effect on the hypertension and hearing loss of Chinese coal miners. And the occupational noise was an independent risk factor for hypertension and could increase the values of SBP and DBP.

Background: Pesticide poisoning is an important issue in rural China, and is also a major public health problem that affects the health of farmers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the epidemiology of pesticide poisoning in Jiangsu Province, and to put forward the relevant suggestions on the logical and discerning utilization of the pesticides. Methods: According to the data of the pesticide poisoning report card established by the health hazard detection information system, the cases of pesticide poisoning in Jiangsu Province from 2006 to 2018 were exported to Excel, and the database of pesticide poisoning was established. Furthermore, the imported data was screened and collected. A descriptive statistical analysis had been employed on this data utilizing SPSS 20.0. Results: Between the years 2006 and 2018, 38,513 pesticide poisoning cases were registered in Jiangsu Province, with a downward trend. Meanwhile, 77.83% of poisoning cases involved insecticide poisoning, followed by herbicide and rodenticide. The greater part of the diverse sorts of studied insecticide poisoning cases involved people aged between 30 and 59 years (57.51%). Poisoning cases caused by rodenticide accounted for a large proportion of people aged between 0 and 14 years (23.72%) in non-occupational pesticide poisoning. Regarding seasons, it was distinguished that more insecticide cases were reported in autumn (46.95% of the total number of cases). Pesticide poisoning was reported in 13 cities of Jiangsu Province, and among these, insecticide poisoning was reported mainly from the northern Jiangsu area, which was the same as rodenticide and herbicide. Conclusions: Although there is a decreased risk for pesticide poisoning among farmworkers in Jiangsu Province, the number of farmworkers with pesticide poisoning is still high. Further management of the pesticide utilization is necessary, especially insecticide. More attention ought to be paid to the protection of vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly.

Background: Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have attracted interests as non-invasive biomarkers of physiological and pathological conditions. Several studies have examined the potential effects of mercury exposure on miRNAs expression profiles of general population environmentally exposed to mercury. The objective is to identify mercury-related miRNAs of female workers occupationally exposed to mercury. Methods: In this case-control study, we used a microarray assay to detect the miRNA expression profiles in pooled plasma samples between (I) chronic mercury poisoning group; (II) mercury absorbing group and (III) control group in the discovery stage. Each group has ten individuals. In addition, we conducted a validation of eight candidate miRNAs in the same 30 workers by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: In the discovery stage, eight miRNAs were conformed following our selection criteria. In the validation stage, RT-PCR confirmed up-regulation of miR-92a and miR-486 in the mercury poisoned group (P<0.05) compared to the other two groups. The results were consistent with the microarray analysis. Conclusions: Plasma miR-92a-3p and miR-486-5p might prove to be potential biomarkers to indicate responses to mercury exposure. However, further studies are necessary to prove the causal association between miRNAs changes and mercury exposure, and to determine whether these two miRNAs are clear biomarkers to mercury exposure.