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Loss of lung function among sheet metal workers: Ten‐year study
Author(s) -
Glencross P. Mark,
Weinberg Janice M.,
Ibrahim Joseph G.,
Christiani David C.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199711)32:5<460::aid-ajim5>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - medicine , asbestosis , asbestos , pulmonary function testing , vital capacity , lung function , lung volumes , lung , diffusing capacity , materials science , metallurgy
One hundred and twenty‐two sheet metal workers in New England were examined over a 10‐year interval for loss of pulmonary function and the development of asbestosis or asbestos‐related pleural fibrosis. Regression models using the generalized estimating equation (GEE) approach were created to investigate the relationship between exposure and pulmonary function after adjusting for smoking status, age, height, and asbestos‐related x‐ray changes. A history of shipyard work was a significant contributor to the loss of forced vital capacity (FVC). Among smokers, loss in forced expiratory volume at 1 sec (FEV 1 ) also had a significant relationship to prior shipyard work. There was a borderline significant relationship between percentage predicted FEV 1 and cumulative years of asbestos exposure in smokers, as well as years‐since‐initial‐exposure in never‐smokers. This study supports previous findings of obstructive airway changes in asbestos‐exposed workers and identifies shipboard work as an important predictor of loss in pulmonary function even years after shipyard exposure to asbestos has ceased. Am. J. Ind. Med. 32:460–466, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.