School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
Occup Med (Lond). 2013 Jul;63(5):377-9. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqt067. Epub 2013 Jun 7.
Production employees in the UK fragrance industry are exposed to large numbers of chemical substances and mixtures. There is a lack of published literature describing the effects of occupational respiratory exposure in this industry.
To investigate whether occupational respiratory exposure to chemicals in the UK fragrance industry is linked to a statistically significant change in lung function as measured using spirometry.
A multi-site cross-sectional study in which five UK companies took part, comprising an exposed group (fragrance production and associated functions) and a control group (non-exposed industry employees, e.g. office staff). Spirometric measurements (forced expiratory volume in 1 second, forced vital capacity and peak expiratory flow) were taken pre- and post-shift. Participants provided information on potential confounding factors (smoking, history of respiratory problems and body mass index). Post-shift measurements were compared between groups, using analysis of covariance to adjust for the baseline pre-shift measurements.
A total of 112 subjects participated: 60 in the exposed group and 52 in control group (response rate 33 and 24%, respectively). Adjusted mean differences in post-shift spirometric measurements between exposed and control groups were not statistically significant.
No significant effects were observed on the spirometric performance of the study population. This work is the first step in a novel area of research, and the industry would benefit from further such research.
英国香薰行业的生产员工会接触到大量的化学物质和混合物。目前缺乏描述该行业职业性呼吸道暴露影响的已发表文献。
调查英国香薰行业内职业性呼吸道接触化学物质是否与使用肺活量计测量的肺功能的统计学显著变化有关。
这是一项多地点的横断面研究，五家英国公司参与其中，包括暴露组（香薰生产及相关功能）和对照组（非暴露行业员工，如办公室职员）。在轮班前和轮班后进行肺活量测量（第 1 秒用力呼气量、用力肺活量和呼气峰流量）。参与者提供了潜在混杂因素（吸烟、呼吸问题史和体重指数）的信息。使用协方差分析调整基线轮班前测量值后，对两组的轮班后测量值进行比较。
共有 112 名参与者：暴露组 60 名，对照组 52 名（分别为 33%和 24%的回应率）。暴露组和对照组轮班后肺活量测量值的调整平均差异无统计学意义。
研究人群的肺活量表现未观察到显著影响。这项工作是开创性研究领域的第一步，该行业将受益于进一步的此类研究。
