Comparison of various airflow measurements in symptomatic textile workers.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the poorly understood relationship between work-related respiratory symptoms, airway reactivity, across working shift change in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) and work-related changes in serial peak expiratory flow (sPEF) measures in a group of textile workers.


METHODS
Fifty-three workers, 34 exposed to cotton dust and 19 to man-made fibre (MMF), were investigated using a standard respiratory questionnaire, sPEF, across-shift FEV(1) measurement and airway responsiveness.


RESULTS
Thirty-four workers (64%) were male, and 9 workers (17%) had a >5% across-shift fall in FEV(1), and these falls were associated with the presence of work-related symptoms. Seven workers had a positive sPEF chart as judged by the software analysis (OASYS), although there was no relationship between work-related symptoms and sPEF. Six cotton workers (18%) and one MMF worker (5%) had airway hyperreactivity, which was associated strongly with work-related symptoms. Five of the 7 subjects with a positive sPEF had airway hyperreactivity compared with 12 of 46 with a negative sPEF.


CONCLUSIONS
In this worker group, the presence of work-related respiratory symptoms was best associated with airway hyperresponsiveness and across-shift changes in FEV(1). While a positive sPEF chart was associated with increased airway responsiveness, it was not associated with work-related symptoms. sPEF measurements may not be the initial investigation of choice for such workers. As these findings also have relevance to developing evidence-based approaches to health surveillance, further work is needed to better define these relationships in other workers complaining of work-related respiratory symptoms.
Fishwick
D
D
Centre for Workplace Health, Health and Safety Laboratory, Harpur Hill, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 9JN, UK. d.fishwick@sheffield.ac.uk
Barraclough
R
R
Pickering
T
T
Fletcher
A
A
Lewis
R
R
Niven
R
R
Warburton
C J
CJ
D000328:Adult; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000633:toxicity*; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D004391:Dust; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013147:Spirometry; D013783:Textile Industry; D013784:Textiles; D013997:Time Factors
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D004391:Dust