A follow-up study of respiratory function in workers exposed to acid aerosols in a food-processing industry |
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Authors: | E Zuskin J Mustajbegovic E N Schachter D Pavicic A Budak |
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Institution: | (1) Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, Rockefellerova 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia,;(2) Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029–6574, USA Tel.: +1-212-241-6067; Fax: +1-212-831-3560, US;(3) Hospital for Pulmonary Diseases, Jordanovac 104, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, JO |
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Abstract: | A follow-up investigation was performed on 49 female workers studied 2 years earlier in a vegetable-pickling plant. Acute
and chronic respiratory symptoms and ventilatory capacity measurements were recorded during the original and the follow-up
studies. Maximal expiratory flow-volume (MEFV) curves were recorded during the Monday morning work shift. The forced vital
capacity (FVC), 1-s forced expiratory volume (FEV1), and flow rates at 50% and the last 25% of the FVC (FEF50, FEF25) were
measured. There were small increases in the prevalence of chronic symptoms between the two studies for both smokers and nonsmokers,
but these did not reach statistical significance. Five workers at the time of the initial study had a diagnosis of occupational
asthma; only one of these was still working at the time of follow-up. Workers lost to the follow-up had lower lung function
than those seen at follow-up. In workers who were followed, larger than expected mean annual declines were noted for all ventilatory
capacity parameters in both smokers (FVC 0.070 l, FEV1 0.070 l; FEF50 0.355 l/s, FEF25 0.270 l/s) and nonsmokers (FVC 0.045
l, FEV1 0.045 l, FEF50 0.285 l/s; FEF25 0.130 l/s). The decrease was particularly pronounced for FEF50 and FEF25. The accelerated
decline in ventilatory capacity tests noted in the female nonsmokers suggests an independent effect on lung function of work
exposure in this environment. Our data confirm that work in the pickling industry, particularly in small, poorly regulated
plants, has deleterious effects on respiratory function.
Received: 24 September 1996 / Accepted: 19 June 1997 |
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Keywords: | Pickling workers Acid air pollution Follow-up study Respiratory symptoms Lung function |
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