Volume : 6, Issue : 6, June - 2017

Study of respiratory function tests in elderly male textile mill workers.

Dr Anjali Date, Dr Pradeep S Baji

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;Background : The health of the individuals will largely depend upon the work environment. In many of the cotton and textile industries, workers are largely exposed to dust. Health is one of the most valuable assets of individual, community and the country as a whole. Investigations of respiratory health effects from these dust particles are necessary in order to predict the risk factors which may cause the above mentioned health hazards and also help in planning for providing better work place conditions to these workers . Taking into consideration the large number of&nbsp; elderly workers involved in textile mills of Solapur we conducted the present study to see the effect of aging on all RFTs . Methods :&nbsp;&nbsp; The present study was conducted in 153 males of Jamshri Textile mill, Solapur. 89 male workers served as cases and 64 males served as controls. After screening all were subjected to Respiratory function test (RFT). The results were analysed using students unpaired T-test. Results : PEFR, FEF 25-75%, FEF 0.2-1.2%, FEF 25% were reduced in textile mill workers by a highly statistically significant value.FEF 50% was also reduced by a statistically significant value.&nbsp; PEFR was the only parameter that decreased to a statistically highly significant value in textile mill workers as shown in table. Conclusion : Transfer to a less dusty department should be advised if the worker shows pulmonary dysfunction. Our study was cross -sectional. But a longitudinal study along with microbiological, immunological and biochemical studies will be helpful to understand the Patho-Physiology of the effects of such exposure to cotton dust.&nbsp;</p>