Workers in salt factories, who inhale large amounts of salt particles, are at risk of high blood pressure due to the increased salt intake. A study published today in the Open Access journal Environmental Health shows for the first time that breathing in large quantities of salt particles has just the same effect on blood pressure as eating a salty diet. Wearing face masks and plastic eyeglasses is enough to protect workers who are highly exposed to salt from salt-related high blood pressure.

A high consumption of salt has been shown to be directly linked to high blood pressure and the development of cardiovascular and kidney diseases, which are major causes of mortality worldwide. The European Food Safety Authority recently issued an opinion stating that current salt intakes in Europe far exceed nutritional requirements and may cause adverse health effects.

The present study, conducted by Kripa Haldiya and colleagues from the Desert Medicine Research Centre in Jodhpur, India, provides new data suggesting that inhaling large amounts of salt particles has the same effect as consuming a salty diet and increases blood pressure considerably, thus putting workers in salt factories around the world at risk of high blood pressure. This study represents the first demonstration of an occupational hazard linked to table salt.

Haldiya et al. measured the blood pressure of workers in two salt milling factories in Rajasthan, India. They divided the workers in two groups: one group worked close to the salt milling plant and was directly involved in crushing, grinding, milling and packing salt; the other group worked far away from the salt milling plant and was much less exposed to salt particles. The results of the study show that the first group of workers had a mean systolic blood pressure of 122.1 mmHg, which is significantly higher than the mean systolic blood pressure of 118.8 mmHg measured in the second group. In addition, workers from the first grou
'"/>

Contact: Juliette Savin
juliette.savin@biomedcentral.com
44-207-631-9931
BioMed Central
24-Jul-2005

Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. High blood pressure problems largely misunderstood by sufferers
2. Worlds largest respiratory health study launches next phase
3. GSK announces launch of largest ever Phase III trial in lung cancer treatment
4. Results of largest ever genome scan for autism out
5. Epidemic of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis may be larger than previously thought
6. Worlds largest clinical trial into rare bone cancer well underway conference hears
7. Firms covering large majority of nations workers view health benefits as important recruitment tool
8. Needs of families with disabled children remain largely unmet
9. Tibotec Therapeutics announces start of largest US study on HIV treatment in women
10. High risk of migraine, depression and chronic pain for IBS sufferers, large study shows
11. New model emphasizes breast density as a predictor of breast cancer risk, large study shows