Blood lead and coronary heart disease risk among elderly men in Zutphen, The Netherlands.

Information about blood lead and other coronary heart disease risk factors was collected in 1977 among 152 men aged 57 to 76 years in the town of Zutphen, the Netherlands. Blood lead was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The blood lead distribution was skewed to the right. The median blood lead concentration was 167 micrograms/L, and the mean was 183 micrograms/L. Blood lead levels above 300 micrograms/L were present among 8.6% and levels above 400 micrograms/L among 1.3% of the Zutphen men. Blood lead was of borderline significance to cigarette smoking. After both univariate and multivariate analyses, a significant association was found between blood lead and blood pressure. This relation was stronger for systolic than for diastolic blood pressure. Of the 141 elderly men free of coronary heart disease in 1977, 26 developed coronary heart disease between 1977 and 1985. Blood lead was not associated with coronary heart disease incidence in both univariate and multivariate analyses.