Mohan Mamta, Panwar Neeraj Kant
Senior Resident, Department of Physiology, University College of Medical Sciences , Dilshad Garden, New Delhi, India .
J Clin Diagn Res. 2013 Aug;7(8):1589-91. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2013/5568.3231. Epub 2013 Aug 1.
Occupational lung diseases form an important part of clinical medicine. Exposure to various chemicals or toxins which are manufactured or processed in industries are lethal for the workers in industries. Although these chemicals at workplace are known to invariably affect all body systems, lungs are most vulnerable to airborne hazards which are caused due to exposure to wood dust in welding, cement and wood industrial sectors.
The aim of the present study was to establish the effect of wood dust on respiratory health of carpenters and to compare the measured values with those of age-matched controls.
This study involved 150 non-smoking carpenters, while 150 age-matched healthy non-smoking persons who were engaged in works other than carpentry, served as controls. The influence of age, height, body surface area (BSA) andduration of exposure on peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) were determined in both cases and control subjects by using a Mini Wright's peak flow meter. The statistical analysis was done by using paired Student's t-test. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
The mean PEFR of study subjects was less than that of the control subjects in each sub group of age, height, weight and BSA and these results were statistically highly significant.
The decrease in PEFR in carpenters was probably due to a continuous exposure to wood dust, which had caused an adverse effect on their respiratory status. In order to prevent the ill effects of wood dust on the respiratory health of carpenters, we suggest pre-employment medical check-ups and regular monitoring thereafter. Also, provision for a good ventilation at work place should be made.
职业性肺病是临床医学的重要组成部分。接触工业生产或加工过程中产生的各种化学物质或毒素对产业工人来说是致命的。尽管已知工作场所的这些化学物质会无一例外地影响身体所有系统，但肺部最易受到焊接、水泥和木材工业部门中因接触木尘而产生的空气传播危害的影响。
本研究的目的是确定木尘对木匠呼吸系统健康的影响，并将测量值与年龄匹配的对照组进行比较。
本研究纳入了150名不吸烟的木匠，同时选取150名年龄匹配的从事非木匠工作的健康不吸烟人员作为对照。使用小型赖特峰值流量计在病例组和对照组中测定年龄、身高、体表面积（BSA）和暴露持续时间对呼气峰值流速（PEFR）的影响。采用配对学生t检验进行统计分析。p值<0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
在年龄、身高、体重和体表面积的每个亚组中，研究对象的平均PEFR均低于对照组，这些结果具有高度统计学意义。
木匠的PEFR降低可能是由于持续接触木尘，这对他们的呼吸状况产生了不利影响。为防止木尘对木匠呼吸系统健康的不良影响，我们建议进行就业前体检并在此后定期监测。此外，应在工作场所提供良好的通风条件。
