Shamssain M H
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Transkei, UNITRA, Umtata, Southern Africa.
Am J Ind Med. 1995 Mar;27(3):359-65. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700270305.
Respiratory symptoms and ventilatory capacity were studied in 63 flour processing male bakery workers in Umtata, Transkei, Southern Africa. The controls were from a bottling plant in the same city. Both groups were black Africans from the Xhosa-speaking population. The studied population was nonsmoking and no significant difference was noted in age, race, sex, or height between the groups. The exposed workers had significantly lower forced expiratory indices than the control group. Mean percent predicted values of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced expiratory ratio (FEV1/FVC x 100), forced mid-expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of FVC (FMF), forced expiratory flow between the first 200 ml and 1,200 ml of FVC (FEF 200-1,200), and peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) were, respectively, 11.2%, 20.0%, 31.0%, 27.4%, and 36.1% lower in the exposed group compared with the controls. The prevalence of forced expiratory ratio less than 70% in the exposed group was 37% while in the controls it was 8%. The prevalence of PEF rate less than 5 1/s in the exposed group was 32% while in the controls it was 11%. The exposed workers reported a significantly higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms compared to the controls. The prevalence of nasal symptoms, phlegm, and cough in the exposed workers was 53.9%, 30.1%, and 25.4%, respectively. The present study demonstrated that exposure to flour dust in flour processing workers in the baking industry is associated with significantly lower pulmonary functions and a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms, and that these workers show signs of airway obstruction, compared to workers not exposed to flour.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
在南非特兰斯凯乌姆塔塔的63名男性面粉加工面包工人中，对他们的呼吸道症状和通气能力进行了研究。对照组来自同一城市的一家瓶装厂。两组均为讲科萨语的非洲黑人。研究人群不吸烟，两组在年龄、种族、性别或身高方面未发现显著差异。与对照组相比，接触面粉的工人的用力呼气指标显著更低。一秒用力呼气量（FEV1）、用力呼气比率（FEV1/FVC×100）、FVC的25%至75%之间的用力呼气中期流速（FMF）、FVC的前200毫升至1200毫升之间的用力呼气流量（FEF 200 - 1200）以及呼气峰值流速（PEF）的平均预测值百分比，接触组分别比对照组低11.2%、20.0%、31.0%、27.4%和36.1%。接触组中用力呼气比率低于70%的患病率为37%，而对照组为8%。接触组中PEF速率低于5升/秒的患病率为32%，而对照组为11%。与对照组相比，接触面粉的工人报告的呼吸道症状患病率显著更高。接触面粉的工人中鼻症状、咳痰和咳嗽的患病率分别为53.9%、30.1%和25.4%。本研究表明，烘焙行业面粉加工工人接触面粉粉尘与显著更低的肺功能和更高的呼吸道症状患病率相关，并且与未接触面粉粉尘的工人相比，这些工人表现出气道阻塞的迹象。（摘要截选于第250个单词）
