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Exposure‐response relationships for coal mine dust and obstructive lung disease following enactment of the federal coal mine health and safety act of 1969
Author(s) -
Seixas Noah S.,
Robins Thomas G.,
Attfield Michael D.,
Moulton Lawrence H.
Publication year - 1992
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.4700210511
Subject(s) - medicine , pneumoconiosis , environmental health , wheeze , coal mining , chronic bronchitis , bronchitis , pulmonary function testing , logistic regression , mine safety , coal , asthma , waste management , pathology , engineering
Underground U.S. coal miners were studied cross‐sectionally for the association of respirable coal mine dust exposure with pulmonary function and symptoms of airways obstruction. The study group included 1,185 miners participating in Round 4 of the National Study of Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis who had started mining in or after 1970 when comprehensive exposure regulations first came into effect. Quantitative estimates of cumulative exposure, derived using respirable dust measurements taken by the Mine Safety and Health Administration over the entire study period, were used in linear and logistic regression models on indicators of pulmonary function and chest symptoms while controlling for smoking status, pack‐years, and other potential confounders. Statistically significant associations between log cumulative exposure and decrements in FVC, FEV 1 , and FEV 1 /FVC were observed. In logistic models, statistically significant associations of cumulative exposure with increasing prevalence of FEV 1 and FEV 1 /FVC less than 80% predicted and symptoms including chronic phlegm, chronic bronchitis, breathlessness, wheeze, and wheeze with shortness of breath were found. It is concluded that exposures to respirable coal mine dust present in U.S. mines since 1970 continue to affect respiratory health in underground miners. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.