Rothman N, Ford D P, Baser M E, Hansen J A, O'Toole T, Tockman M S, Strickland P T
Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205.
J Occup Med. 1991 Nov;33(11):1163-7. doi: 10.1097/00043764-199111000-00013.
We studied cross-seasonal changes in pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms in 52 wildland firefighters in Northern California. The mean cross-seasonal change in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) was -1.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.5%, -2.0%) with a corresponding mean change in forced expiratory volume (FVC) of -0.3% (95% CI 0.4%, -1.0%). Decreases in FEV1 and FVC were most strongly associated with hours of recent fire-fighting activity (P = .002 and .01, respectively). When the study group was divided into three categories based on recent fire-fighting activity, firefighters in the high activity category (mean +/- SE, 73 +/- 7 hours of fire-fighting in previous week) had a -2.9% (130 mL) change in FEV1 and a -1.9% (102 mL) change in forced vital capacity (FVC). There was a significant cross-seasonal increase in most respiratory symptoms evaluated. Several symptoms (eye irritation, nose irritation, and wheezing) were associated with recent fire-fighting. These findings suggest that wildland firefighters experience a small cross-seasonal decline in pulmonary function and an increase in several respiratory symptoms. Research is under way to identify the fire conditions and specific components of exposure that produce pulmonary irritants, and to examine the potential reversibility of acute pulmonary change.
我们研究了北加利福尼亚州52名野外消防员的肺功能和呼吸道症状的跨季节变化。一秒用力呼气量（FEV1）的平均跨季节变化为-1.2%（95%置信区间[CI]-0.5%，-2.0%），相应的用力呼气量（FVC）平均变化为-0.3%（95%CI 0.4%，-1.0%）。FEV1和FVC的下降与近期灭火活动的时长最为密切相关（P值分别为0.002和0.01）。当根据近期灭火活动将研究组分为三类时，高活动类别（平均±标准误，前一周灭火73±7小时）的消防员FEV1变化为-2.9%（130毫升），用力肺活量（FVC）变化为-1.9%（102毫升）。所评估的大多数呼吸道症状出现了显著的跨季节增加。几种症状（眼睛刺激、鼻子刺激和喘息）与近期灭火有关。这些发现表明，野外消防员的肺功能在跨季节时出现小幅下降，且几种呼吸道症状有所增加。目前正在开展研究，以确定产生肺部刺激物的火灾条件和特定暴露成分，并研究急性肺部变化的潜在可逆性。
