Premium
Organic dust toxic syndrome in swine confinement farming
Author(s) -
Vogelzang Peter F.J.,
van der Gulden Joost W.J.,
Folgering Hans,
van Schayck Constant P.
Publication year - 1999
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(199904)35:4<332::aid-ajim2>3.0.co;2-e
Subject(s) - medicine , occupational exposure , agriculture , organic farming , environmental health , environmental chemistry , toxicology , ecology , biology , chemistry
Background Pig farmers are exposed to organic dust with pro‐inflammatory capacities. This makes it likely that they suffer from organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS). No studies that included unexposed control populations are available so far. Methods The prevalence of ODTS was established by the use of questionnaires in a group of 239 pig farmers and 311 rural controls working in nonagricultural occupations. Results Pig farmers suffered more often from ODTS than controls (6.4% vs. 2.6%, P < 0.05). Organic dust toxic syndrome was associated with symptoms of atopy (prevalence odds ratio (POR) 3.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2–8.0) and with the use of wood‐shavings as bedding (POR 4.3, 95% CI 1.2–15.6). An inverse association with the number of years worked as pig farmer was found (up to 5 years vs. more than 5 years; POR 5.0, 95% CI 0.8–32.9). Conclusions The prevalence of ODTS was elevated among pig farmers when compared to nonfarming, rural controls. Am. J. Ind. Med. 35:332–334, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.