en Occupational Health Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span sans-serif="" style="font-family:Calibri,"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Background:</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> Workers are exposed to lead in many industries and mines. The present study aimed to determine lead levels and cognitive functions among workers of a lead mine in Iran. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span sans-serif="" style="font-family:Calibri,"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Materials and Methods:</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> This cross-sectional study was conducted in Nain city in Isfahan Province, center of Iran, in 2022. The studied population consisted of 76 miners as the lead exposed group as well as a group of 76 office workers, working in the same mine, without any history of exposure to lead as the non-exposed group. Demographic information was collected using a questionnaire. The samples were analyzed using NIOSH techniques 8003 and 7082 to detect lead in the blood and breathing zone, respectively. The cognitive functions of the exposed and non-exposed groups were compared using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, digit span, Corsi block-tapping, Tower of London, and continuous performance tests.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span sans-serif="" style="font-family:Calibri,"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Results:</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> The mean lead levels in the breathing zone and blood were significantly higher in the exposed group (0.08 &plusmn; 0.06 mg/m3, 37.41 &plusmn; 10.28 &micro;g/dl, respectively), compared to the non-exposed group (0.02 &plusmn; 0.01 mg/m3, 12.57 &plusmn; 4.27 &micro;g/dl, respectively). The total scores for all cognitive tests in the exposed group were significantly worse than those in the non-exposed group. Even after controlling for age, work history, smoking, education, and body mass index, there were still significant correlations between blood lead levels and cognitive abilities (p<0.05).</span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span sans-serif="" style="font-family:Calibri,"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Conclusion:</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> According to the current study&#39;s findings, exposure to lead was associated with cognitive disorders.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div> Lead,Cognitive Disorders,Mine Workers, 269 279 http://johe.rums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-808-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Zahra Yavar - - yavarzahra@yahoo.com 22400319475328460013288 22400319475328460013288 No M.Sc. in Occupational Health Engineering, Industrial Diseases Research Center, Dept. of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences Fatemeh Kargar-Shouroki - - kargar_st@yahoo.com 22400319475328460013289 22400319475328460013289 Yes Assistant Prof, Industrial Diseases Research Center, Dept. of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences Gholamhossein Halvani - - halvani39@gmail.com 22400319475328460013290 22400319475328460013290 No Assistant Prof, Industrial Diseases Research Center, Dept. of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences Reyhane Sefidkar - - reyhanesefidkar@gmail.com 22400319475328460013291 22400319475328460013291 No Assistant Prof, Center for Healthcare Data Modeling, Dept. of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of public health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences Fahimeh Dehghani - - dehghanif@hotmail.com 22400319475328460013292 22400319475328460013292 No Assistant Prof, Dept. of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran Yazd University