Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Vol. 55, Iss. 1, January 2013
Acute pulmonary function change associated with work on large dairies in california
Riassunto
Objective To study whether dairy workers in California have lower baseline and greater cross-shift decrements in lung function than control employees.
Methods A cross-sectional study of 210 dairy and 47 control workers who completed questionnaires and spirometry before and after the work shift.
Results Dairy work was associated with mean baseline differences of -0.132 L (P = 0.07) and -0.131 L (P = 0.13) in forced expiratory volume in 1 second and forced vital capacity, respectively, compared with control employees, adjusting for age, height, smoking status, and days back at work since last day off. Dairy work was associated with a mean cross-shift difference of -65.2 mL (P = 0.02) and -103.1 mL (P < 0.01) in forced expiratory volume in 1 second and forced vital capacity, respectively, adjusting for smoking status and work-shift time.
Conclusions Dairy work in California was associated with mild acute airway obstruction. The unclear long-term effect of dairy work in California merits further investigation.