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Role of underlying pulmonary obstruction in short‐term airway response to metal working fluid exposure: A reanalysis
Author(s) -
Zeka Ariana,
Kriebel David,
Kennedy Susan M.,
Wegman David H.
Publication year - 2003
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.10179
Subject(s) - medicine , airway obstruction , pulmonary function testing , cohort study , cohort , cardiology , lung function , lung , surgery , airway
Abstract Background Among epidemiologic studies that found evidence for associations between exposures to metal working fluids (MWF) and pulmonary function impairments, one found effects restricted to workers with fixed obstruction at baseline. We reanalyzed a previously published study on MWF exposure and cross‐shift pulmonary function to further evaluate this finding. Methods Pulmonary function was measured cross‐shift on Monday and Friday in 131 male automotive workers. Quantitative personal MWF exposure data were available. Those with an FEV 1 /FVC ratio of ≤0.72 were considered obstructed. Results There was a trend towards increasing incidence of cross‐shift decrement in FEV 1 as MWF exposure increased in the full cohort as well as when the results were restricted to the 19 (14.5%) who were obstructed. Those with obstruction were slightly more likely to show decrements in FEV 1 on Fridays. Removing the obstructed subgroup did not appear to substantially weaken the exposure–response relation. Conclusions No important differences were found in cross‐shift effects of MWF between obstructed and non‐obstructed workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 43:286–290, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.