Nunn A J, Craigen A A, Darbyshire J H, Venables K M, Newman Taylor A J
National Heart and Lung Institute, Brompton Hospital, London.
Br J Ind Med. 1990 Nov;47(11):747-52. doi: 10.1136/oem.47.11.747.
The long term effects of formaldehyde on the respiratory tract have been investigated in a group of 164 workers exposed daily to the chemical during the production of urea formaldehyde resin, together with 129 workers not exposed to free formaldehyde. Exposure was classified as high (corresponding to an eight hour time weighted exposure of more than 2.0 ppm), medium (0.6 to 2.0 ppm), or low (0.1 to 0.5 ppm). Twenty five per cent of workers had had high exposure at some time and 17% moderate exposure. Both the exposed and unexposed groups had an annual assessment that included lung function. The proportion with self reported respiratory symptoms was similar in the two groups, 12% and 16% reporting breathlessness on hurrying and 26% and 20% wheezing. The initial forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was within 0.5 l (approximately one standard deviation (SD)) of the predicted value (by age and height) in 65% of the exposed and 59% of unexposed workers and more than 0.5 l below the predicted value in 9% of exposed and 11% of unexposed workers. The mean decline in FEV1 was 42 ml a year (SD 45) in the exposed group and 41 ml a year in the unexposed group (SD 40 ml a year). The rate of decline showed the expected association with smoking in the unexposed group, but in the exposed group the mean rate of decline in the never smokers was similar to that in current smokers. There were, however, relatively few never smokers and considerable variation in the rates of decline. In the exposed group no association was found between the rate of decline and indices of exposure to formaldehyde. Thus there is no evidence from this study of an excess of respiratory symptoms or decline in lung function in the workers exposed to formaldehyde. The similar rate of decline of FEV1 however in never smokers and smokers of the exposed group is consistent with findings of other studies for workers exposed to formaldehyde and to toluene di-isocyanate.
在一组164名在脲醛树脂生产过程中每天接触该化学物质的工人以及129名未接触游离甲醛的工人中，对甲醛对呼吸道的长期影响进行了调查。接触程度分为高（相当于8小时时间加权接触超过2.0 ppm）、中（0.6至2.0 ppm）或低（0.1至0.5 ppm）。25%的工人曾有过高接触，17%有过中度接触。暴露组和未暴露组每年都进行包括肺功能在内的评估。两组中自我报告有呼吸道症状的比例相似，12%和16%的人报告在匆忙时呼吸急促，26%和20%的人报告有喘息。65%的暴露组工人和59%的未暴露组工人的初始一秒用力呼气量（FEV1）在预测值（根据年龄和身高）的0.5升（约一个标准差（SD））范围内，9%的暴露组工人和11%的未暴露组工人的FEV1比预测值低超过0.5升。暴露组FEV1的平均年下降量为42毫升（SD 45），未暴露组为每年41毫升（SD 40毫升/年）。在未暴露组中，下降率显示出与吸烟的预期关联，但在暴露组中，从不吸烟者的平均下降率与当前吸烟者相似。然而，从不吸烟者相对较少，下降率存在相当大的差异。在暴露组中，未发现下降率与甲醛暴露指数之间存在关联。因此，这项研究没有证据表明接触甲醛的工人有过多的呼吸道症状或肺功能下降。然而，暴露组中从不吸烟者和吸烟者的FEV1下降率相似，这与其他关于接触甲醛和甲苯二异氰酸酯的工人的研究结果一致。
