title: Respiratory symptoms and lung function in jute processing workers: a primary investigation.
abstract: This paper presents the results of an investigation of respiratory symptoms and lung function of 404 workers who had been exposed to jute dust in a jute mill. Measurement of total dust concentration and analysis of dust composition were also conducted. Most workers in the jute mill were exposed to jute dusts containing less than 5% silica, whereas a few workers were exposed to dusts containing approximately 10-15% silica. Male smokers and nonsmokers in the dust-exposed group had a higher prevalence of cough and chest tightness compared with those in the control group. Among dust-exposed workers, female nonsmokers had a significantly higher prevalence of cough, chronic bronchitis, chest tightness, and dyspnea than those in the control group. Lung function tests showed that dust-exposed workers had a greater incidence of abnormal lung function than did control workers, as measured by percentage of predicted forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1.0), and FEV1.0/FVC. Dust exposure was the main cause of respiratory symptoms and abnormal values of FEV1.0, but both cigarette smoking and dust exposure contributed to the abnormal values reported for FEV1.0.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Z L
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: J Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Lou
mesh_terms: D004391:Dust / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D013783:Textile Industry
chemical_list: D004391:Dust