Occurrence of respiratory symptoms and lung function deficits among fruit and vegetable market workers.

Autor: Heibati B; Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.; Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland., Jaakkola MS; Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.; Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland., Lajunen TK; Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.; Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland., Ducatman A; Occupational and Environmental Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA., Zafari Z; Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Fars, Iran (the Islamic Republic of)., Yekkalam M; Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Fars, Iran (the Islamic Republic of)., Karimi A; Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Tehran, Iran (the Islamic Republic of)., Jaakkola JJK; Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland jouni.jaakkola@oulu.fi.; Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.; Atmospheric Composition Research Unit, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Occupational and environmental medicine [Occup Environ Med] 2021 Apr; Vol. 78 (4), pp. 262-268. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Jan 17.
DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2020-106829
Abstrakt: Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the potential effects of occupational exposures among fruit and vegetable market workers on the occurrence of respiratory symptoms and on the level of lung function parameters.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 140 men working as fruit and vegetable market workers (response rate 100%) and a reference group of 77 male office workers as the reference group (response rate 55%) from Shiraz, Iran. The outcomes of interest included occurrence of respiratory symptoms assessed by a standard respiratory questionnaire and lung function assessed by spirometry.
Results: In Poisson regression analyses, the exposed group showed increased prevalence ratio (PR) of wheezing (adjusted PR 5.32, 95% CI 1.40 to 20.26), after controlling for confounding. Cough (PR 3.30, 95% CI 1.16 to 9.40) and wheezing (PR 9.40, 95% CI 2.28 to 38.64) showed increased PRs among vegetable distributors. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) and FEV 1 /forced vital capacity were significantly decreased among exposed workers after controlling for confounders. The absolute value of FEV 1 level was reduced significantly among fruit and vegetable carters (-0.99, 95% CI -1.68 to -0.32) and vegetable (-0.51, 95% CI -0.93 to -0.10) and fruit (-0.51, 95% CI -0.86 to -0.15) distributors in comparison with the reference group in the adjusted full model.
Conclusions: This study provides evidence that fruit and vegetable market workers are at an increased risk of respiratory symptoms and reduced lung function. Workplace conditions and safety training clearly need improvement, and there is a likely role for proper use of personal protective equipment.
Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.
(© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: