Johnsen H Laier, Kongerud J, Hetland S M, Benth J Saltyte, Søyseth V
Department of Medicine, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.
Am J Ind Med. 2008 Apr;51(4):296-306. doi: 10.1002/ajim.20557.
In the smelting industry airborne pollutants are emitted into the workplace atmosphere during the production process. Our aim in this study was to investigate the relationship between production and lung function among employees at Norwegian smelters.
Spirometry was performed on 3,924 employees, who also completed a standardized questionnaire. The employees were classified by job functions: (i) line operators were employed full-time on the production line, (ii) non-exposed employees did not work in production, and (iii) the remainder of the employees were classified as non-line operators.
The mean age of the participants was 38.6 (range 20.0-55.0) years, 88.5% were males. The multivariate analyses showed that, compared to the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)) in non-exposed employees, the FEV(1) (95% confidence interval) was 87 (33-141) ml and 65 (12-118) ml lower in line and non-line operators, respectively. The prevalence of airflow limitation (FEV(1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) below the 5th percentile of the predicted value) was 4.7% in non-exposed employees, 7.5% in non-line operators and 8.3% in line operators.
Compared with non-exposed employees, impairment of lung function among employees at Norwegian smelters was significantly related to the job categories of line operator and non-line operator.
在冶炼行业，生产过程中会向工作场所空气中排放空气污染物。本研究的目的是调查挪威冶炼厂员工的生产与肺功能之间的关系。
对3924名员工进行了肺活量测定，这些员工还完成了一份标准化问卷。员工按工作职能分类：（i）生产线操作员全职受雇于生产线，（ii）未接触者不在生产岗位工作，（iii）其余员工归类为非生产线操作员。
参与者的平均年龄为38.6岁（范围20.0 - 55.0岁），88.5%为男性。多变量分析显示，与未接触者的一秒用力呼气量（FEV(1)）相比，生产线操作员和非生产线操作员的FEV(1)（95%置信区间）分别低87（33 - 141）毫升和65（12 - 118）毫升。气流受限（FEV(1)/用力肺活量（FVC）低于预测值的第5百分位数）的患病率在未接触者中为4.7%，在非生产线操作员中为7.5%，在生产线操作员中为8.3%。
与未接触者相比，挪威冶炼厂员工的肺功能损害与生产线操作员和非生产线操作员的工作类别显著相关。
