title: Respiratory symptoms and alterations in pulmonary function tests in swine producers in Saskatchewan: results of a survey of farmers.
abstract: To determine whether farmers who produced swine in animal confinement chambers in Saskatchewan were at increased risk of developing respiratory dysfunction, we carried out a respiratory health questionnaire and spirometric pulmonary function test measurements, including forced expired volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and the ratio of FEV1 to FVC (FEV1/FVC x 100), on 504 farmers who indicated that they raised swine, and 448 rural-dwelling nonfarming control subjects. Swine producers had lower values for FVC and FEV1 than did the control subjects. However, FEV1/FVC x 100 was somewhat higher in the swine producers. The reduction in FEV1 with retained FEV1/FVC ratio is suggestive of restrictive disease. However, the fact that the FEV1/FVC ratio is only modestly higher in swine producers than in control subjects suggests that there may be a mixed restrictive/obstructive condition in these workers.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Agricultural Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dosman
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pahwa
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: McDuffie
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lucewicz
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: To
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012525:Saskatchewan; D013552:Swine