Moitra Subhabrata, Maity Santi Gopal, Haldar Prasun, Pandit Asis Kumar, Sahu Subhashis
Int J Occup Environ Health. 2015 Jul-Sep;21(3):185-91. doi: 10.1179/2049396714Y.0000000057. Epub 2014 Mar 20.
An estimated half a billion people are engaged in fishing related occupations in India. Exposure to adulterated fuel exhaust is common among deep-sea fishermen, yet little is known about the potential impacts on the exposure to health.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether fuel emission exposure was associated with increased respiratory impairments among fishermen who were occupationally exposed to fuel exhaust compared to fisherman occupationally unexposed to fuel exhaust.
This cross-sectional study compared the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and lung function variables between 152 marine-water and 107 fresh water fishermen considering the use of fuel-driven trawlers. Data were obtained from questionnaires and computerized spirometer.
Fishermen exposed to trawler fuel exhaust reported more than double the number of respiratory symptoms compared to the unexposed fisherman (86·2 vs. 40·2%). They also had a significantly higher chance experiencing chronic cough (adjusted OR = 3·51, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2·09-6·35), chronic phlegm (8·61, 4·76-15·97), and wheezing (4·29, 2·55-7·61) symptoms. Finally, there was a significant reduction of the ratio of mid portion of forced expiratory flow rate and forced vital capacity (FEF25-75/FVC) in the exposed fishermen compared to the unexposed (0·84 vs. 0·73 second(-1), P = 0·015).
Fuel exhaust may negatively impact on the respiratory health of Indian fishermen. More attention and surveillance of occupational health for fishermen in India is needed.
据估计，印度有5亿人从事与渔业相关的职业。深海渔民普遍接触掺假的燃料废气，但对其对健康的潜在影响知之甚少。
本研究的目的是调查与未接触燃料废气的渔民相比，职业接触燃料废气的渔民中，燃料排放暴露是否与呼吸功能损害增加有关。
这项横断面研究比较了152名海水渔民和107名淡水渔民（考虑使用燃料驱动拖网渔船）的呼吸道症状患病率和肺功能变量。数据通过问卷调查和电脑化肺活量计获得。
与未接触的渔民相比，接触拖网渔船燃料废气的渔民报告的呼吸道症状数量增加了一倍多（86.2%对40.2%）。他们出现慢性咳嗽（调整后的比值比=3.51，95%置信区间（CI）=2.09-6.35）、慢性咳痰（8.61，4.76-15.97）和喘息（4.29，2.55-7.61）症状的可能性也显著更高。最后，与未接触的渔民相比，接触的渔民中用力呼气流量率中部与用力肺活量的比值（FEF25-75/FVC）显著降低（0.84对0.73秒-1，P=0.015）。
燃料废气可能对印度渔民的呼吸健康产生负面影响。印度需要更多地关注和监测渔民的职业健康。
