Professional paper
Respiratory symptoms and ventilatory lung function in shoe workers
Eugenija Žuškin
; Škola narodnog zdravlja »Andrija Štampar« Medicinskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Jadranka Mustajbegović
; Škola narodnog zdravlja »Andrija Štampar« Medicinskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Jagoda Doko-Jelinić
; Škola narodnog zdravlja »Andrija Štampar« Medicinskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb
Josipa Kern
; Škola narodnog zdravlja »Andrija Štampar« Medicinskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Viktorija Bradić
; Croatia osiguranje d.d., Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
The respiratory health status was studied in 376 female shoe workers. The mean age of workers was 32 years and the mean exposure 12 years. A significantly higher prevalence of all chronic respiratory symptoms and diseases was found In exposed compared to control workers. This was particularly pronounced for chest tightness (exposed: 44.7%; control: 0%), dyspnoea (exposed; 42.6%; control: 2.0%) and rhinitis (exposed: 46.3%; control: 2.4%). In exposed workers there was also a high prevalence of acule symptoms which developed during work shift, palicularly irritation of the throat (56.6%), dryness of the throat (61.4%), dryness of the nose (56.4%). and eye imtation (63.6%). The prevalence of acute and chronic respiratory symptoms and diseases increased with duration of exposure. There were also statistically significant acute reductions in all ventilatory capacity tests (FVC, FEV1, FEF50, FEF25) during work shift. The measured ventilatory capacity values in exposed workers were significantly lower in comparison with the predicted values (P<0.01). Lung function severity increased with duration of employment. The data suggest that occupational exposure to atmospheric pollution in the shoe manufacturing industry may be responsible for the development of acute and chronic respiratory impairment.
Keywords
kronični respiracijski simptomi; profesionalna izloženost; radna okolina; ventilacijski testovi
Hrčak ID:
145048
URI
Publication date:
3.10.1996.
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