title: Prevalence of respiratory symptoms and disorders among rice mill workers in India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lung function tests have become an integral part of assessment of pulmonary disease. Diseases of the respiratory system induced by occupational dusts are influenced by the duration of exposure. The aim of the study is to investigate the impairment of lung function and prevalence of respiratory symptoms among the rice mill workers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 120 rice mill workers from three districts of Karnataka were included in this study. Fifty urban dwellers from the same socio-economic level were selected as controls. The study included clinical examination, assessment of respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function test, measurement of peak expiratory flow rate, absolute eosinophil count, ESR estimation, total IgE estimation and radiographic test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The present study has shown that the rice mill workers complained of several types of respiratory disorders like phlegm (40.8 %), dyspnea (44.2 %), chest tightness (26.7 %), cough (21.7 %), and nose irritation (27.5 %). Rice mill workers exposed to dust presented significantly (p < 0.05) lower levels of FVC (3.44 ± 0.11), FEV1 (2.73 ± 0.15) and PEFR (304.95 ± 28.79) than the controls. The rice mill workers are having significantly higher absolute eosinophil counts, total IgE and ESR than control groups. The hematological findings suggest that the harmful effects may be linked to both non-specific irritation and allergic responses to rice husk dust among rice mill workers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dust exposure in the working environment affects the lung function values and increased the respiratory symptoms among the rice mill workers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Maitri College of Dentistry & Research Center, Anjora, Durg, Chhattisgarh, India, tirthag@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tirthankar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: Somnath
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gangopadhyay
authors.forename: Banibrata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004391:Dust; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D012275:Oryza; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D015995:Prevalence; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D004391:Dust