title: Cement dust exposure and ventilatory function impairment: an exposure-response study.
abstract: We investigated cumulative total cement dust exposure and ventilatory function impairment at a Portland cement factory in Tanzania. All 126 production workers were exposed. The control group comprised all 88 maintenance workers and 32 randomly chosen office workers. Exposed workers had significantly lower forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow rate (PEF), FEV1/FVC, FVC%, FEV1% and PEF%, than controls adjusted for age, duration of employment, height, and pack-years. Cumulative total dust exposure was significantly associated with reduced FVC, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and peak expiratory flow rate adjusted for age, height and pack-years. Cumulative total dust exposure more than 300 mg/m year versus lower than 100 mg/m years was significantly associated with increased risk of developing airflow limitation (odds ratio = 9.9). The current occupational exposure limit for total cement dust (10 mg/m) appears to be too high to prevent respiratory health effects among cement workers.
authors.affiliation: Center for International Health, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. jmwaiselage@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Julius
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mwaiselage
authors.forename: Magne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bråtveit
authors.forename: Bente
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moen
authors.forename: Yohana
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mashalla
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003252:Construction Materials; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004391:Dust; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D009790:Occupations; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D013636:Tanzania
chemical_list: D004391:Dust