Table 1.
Characteristics of total and stratified study population (mean ± SD).
| Total population | Gender | Occupation | Blood pressure medication | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Males | Females | Dentists | Non-dentists | No | Yes | ||
| n | 262 | 99 | 163 | 114 | 148 | 223 | 39 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.4 (4.5) | 27.2 (3.7) | 25.9 (4.9)c | 26.6 (3.9) | 26.2(4.9) | 26.2 (4.5) | 27.8 (4.3)c |
| Age (years) | 52.3 (12.3) | 60.2 (10.8) | 47.5 (10.6)e | 57.8 (11.4) | 48.0(11.3)e | 50.7 (12.0) | 61.4 (9.8)e |
| SBP (mmHg) | 124(15.3) | 133(13.3) | 119 (14.1)e | 130(15.2) | 120 (13.9)e | 123(14.6) | 135 (15.1)e |
| DBP (mmHg) | 73.5 (9.3) | 75.9 (8.2) | 72.0 (9.7)d | 75.0 (8.7) | 72.3 (9.7)c | 72.9 (9.2) | 76.8 (9.6)c |
| Pulse (beats/min) | 72.7 (11.8) | 69.1 (12.9) | 74.9 (10.5)e | 69.8 (12.6) | 75.0(10.6)e | 73.3 (11.5) | 69.4 (13.1) |
| Alcohol (drinks/day) | 0.42 (0.55) | 0.54 (0.65) | 0.34 (0.47)d | 0.55 (0.66) | 0.31 (0.43)d | 0.38 (0.52) | 0.64 (0.65)d |
| Amalgama | 3.58 (3.42) | 4.01 (3.44) | 3.33 (3.39) | 4.15 (3.59) | 3.15 (3.24)c | 3.25 (3.12) | 5.49 (4.40)e |
| Amalgams handleda | 27.9 (47.3) | 43.6 (57.1) | 18.4 (37.4)e | 48.0 (57.1) | 12.4(30.2)e | 26.9 (46.9) | 33.2 (50.0) |
| Hg intakeb (μg/kg bw/day) | 0.08 (0.12) | 0.09 (0.13) | 0.07 (0.12) | 0.09 (0.13) | 0.07 (0.12) | 0.07 (0.12) | 0.10 (0.14) |
a
Amalgam is the number of mercury-containing dental amalgams in the subject's mouth while amalgams handled is the sum of dental amalgams removed and placed per week in occupational practice.
b
Hg intake estimated from reported fish consumption (type, portion size, consumption frequency).
c
p < 0.05, ANOVA tests comparing paired categories (male vs. female, dentists vs. non-dentists, blood pressure medication users vs. non-users).
d
p < 0.01.
e
p < 0.001.