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Follow‐up study of respiratory health of newly‐hired female cotton textile workers
Author(s) -
Wang XiaoRong,
Pan LeiDa,
Zhang HongXi,
Sun BiXiong,
Dai Helian,
Christiani David C.
Publication year - 2002
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/ajim.10042
Subject(s) - medicine , respiratory system , byssinosis , pulmonary function testing , confounding , vital capacity , respiratory disease , lung function , phlegm , lung , environmental health , pathology , diffusing capacity , alternative medicine , traditional chinese medicine
Background Numerous studies have investigated adverse effects of exposure to cotton dust on respiratory health, but very limited longitudinal data are available with regard to the early pulmonary response to cotton dust. Moreover, the adverse effects of occupational exposure to cotton dust have been difficult to separate from the confounding effects of smoking. This setting provided a unique opportunity to evaluate early respiratory effects in newly hired and non‐smoking female textile workers. Methods To identify early pulmonary responses to cotton dust exposure and associated gram‐negative bacterial endotoxin, respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function in 225 newly‐hired textile workers were assessed at work initiation, and at three and twelve months later. Results All the workers were females and nonsmokers, with an average age of 18 years. Symptom incidence at three months was 3.6% for usual cough with phlegm, and 6.7% for usual dry cough. Lung function changes were detectable at one year: FEV 1 declined by 70 ml and FVC by 124 ml over the year, and workers reporting respiratory symptoms at three months showed a significantly greater cross‐shift drop in FEV 1 (−2.3%) than those without the symptoms (−0.7%). Conclusions These results suggest that the occurrence of respiratory symptoms represents the earliest response to cotton dust exposure, followed by lung function changes. Early respiratory symptoms may be a risk factor for subsequent loss of pulmonary function in cotton textile workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 41:111–118, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.