title: Chronic obstructive lung disease in gold miners.
abstract: A survey has been made of 2209 gold miners in the Republic of South Africa. The result showed that there is a significant dose-response relationship between dust inhaled and both chronic bronchitis and airways obstruction. This is found in smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers. The effect of smoking is more potent than that of dust but there does not appear to be a dose-response relationship in regard to smoking. The effect of smoking differs from the effect of dust in that ex-smokers show less bronchitis and less airways obstruction than smokers, but ex-miners do not show a similar advantage over working miners.
mesh_terms: D001991:Bronchitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006046:Gold; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008450:Maximal Midexpiratory Flow Rate; D008875:Middle Aged; D008906:Mining; D012829:Silicosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012907:Smoking / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D013019:South Africa
chemical_list: D006046:Gold