Objective 　To conduct a systematic review on the Electrocardiogram (ECG) changes in the workers exposed to high temperatures by means of meta-analysis.
Methods 　The retrospective cohort studies on the relationship between high temperature and ECG abnormalities published from 1990 to May 2009 were searched in CNKI, VIP, WanFang database and CBM database. The literatures meeting the inclusive criteria were selected, the quality was assessed, the data were extracted, and the meta-analyses were conducted with RevMan 4.2.2 software.
Results 　A total of 20 studies were included. The results of meta-analyses showed: the ECG abnormality rate of the high-temperature group was obviously superior to that of the control group with significant difference (OR=2.76, 95%CI 2.37 to 3.20, P lt;0.000 01). The high-temperature severely affected left ventricular hypertrophy (OR=3.49, 95%CI 2.83 to 4.31, P lt;0.000 01), sinus bradycardia (OR=2.83, 95%CI 2.33 to 3.43, P lt;0.000 01), and changes in ST-T segment (OR=2.63, 95%CI 1.48 to 4.68, P=0.000 10), which indicated that the abnormal changes of ECG, such as left ventricular hypertrophy, sinus tachycardia, sinus bradycardia, and changes in ST-T segment could be the sensitive indexes to monitor cardiovascular disease of workers exposed to high-temperature.
Conclusion 　The incidence of ECG abnormalities caused by high-temperature operation is obviously superior to that of the control group, so it is required to strengthen the health monitoring and labor protection for the workers exposed to high temperature.

Citation： HUANG Luzhong,YANG Tengfei,HUANG Jingjing,AKELIBAIKE Amantuer,LI Guang,GUAN Xuelai. ECG Changes in Workers Exposed to High-Temperature: A Meta-analysis. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2011, 11(2): 174-180. doi: 10.7507/1672-2531.20110030 Copy

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