Occupational exposures and obstructive lung disease: a case-control study in hairdressers.
BACKGROUND
Hairdressers are exposed to various irritating chemicals during work.


OBJECTIVE
This study was designed as a case-control study to evaluate the risk of developing obstructive lung disease in relation to occupational exposures in hairdressers.


METHODS
We interviewed a cohort of 50 female hairdressers and 50 matched controls recruited from a random sample of the general population, using a validated questionnaire for occupational respiratory disease, to compare the prevalence of work-initiated and work-related respiratory symptoms in both groups. We also performed pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in all participants.


RESULTS
Almost half of the hairdressers reported work-initiated respiratory symptoms. Cough (33%) and breathlessness (29%) were the most common self-reported symptoms after chemical exposures. All respiratory symptoms (cough, breathless, wheezing, and phlegm) were significantly higher in the hairdressers than in the control group (P < .001). The hairdressers reported that bleaching powder and hair spray were the most irritant chemicals that provoke their respiratory symptoms. The impaired PFT values (forced vital capacity, FEV(1), maximum mid-expiratory flow, peak expiratory flow) in the hairdressers, compared to the matched controls, were in line with the questionnaire data.


CONCLUSIONS
Hairdressing work is associated with a high frequency of work-initiated respiratory symptoms and, to a lesser extent, with allergic symptoms, particularly after exposure to bleaching powder and hair spray. PFT values were significantly lower among the hairdressers, which might be a predictor for developing obstructive lung disease.
Hashemi
Nastran
N
Department of Physiology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, 177948564.
Boskabady
Mohammad Hossein
MH
Nazari
Ashraf
A
D000328:Adult; D001461:Barbering; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000209:etiology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires