Respiratory Health Associated with Dairy Work in California

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bennett DH ; Eastman C ; Mitchell DC ; Mitloehner FM ; Schenker MB
• Description:
  Modern large-scale dairies generate considerable amounts of respiratory toxins. As part of a large study of dairy worker respiratory health, we examined the hypothesis that dairy work in California is associated with acute and chronic decrement in lung function. 226 male dairy workers throughout California's Central Valley completed both questionnaires and spirometry pre- and post-work shift. In addition, 49 male employees of a food processing plant completed a similar survey and pre- and post-shift spirometry. 97.8% and 97.7% of dairy and processing plant employees, respectively, were Hispanic. 20.5% of dairy workers and 13.6% of control facility employees were current smokers; the difference in proportions was not statistically significant. Mean age was 33 years (SD=10.8; range 18-70) and 36 years (SD=12.2; range 19-63) for dairy and control participants, respectively. Adjusting for current smoking status, dairy work was found to be a significant predictor (p=0.025) of a decrease in baseline (pre-shift) percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (% FEV1). The estimated coefficient associated with dairy work in a linear regression model (% FEV1 as outcome) was -0.0464 (95% CI: -0.0865, -0.0062). These findings are consistent with chronic airflow obstruction associated with dairy work. Further analysis will determine the acute cross-shift change in pulmonary measures in relation to measured personal exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biological Factors Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Irritants Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Health Respiratory Hypersensitivity Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Biological-factors Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-methods Inhalation-studies Lung-disorders Lung-irritants Mathematical-models Pulmonary-disorders Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-hypersensitivity Respiratory-infections Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Statistical-analysis Toxic-effects Toxins Work-environment Work-performance Worker-health Workplace-studies

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• ISSN:
  1073-449X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  179
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036377
• Citation:
  Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2009 Apr; 179(Meeting Abstracts):A1657
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Davis
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
• Supplement:
  Meeting Abstracts
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:60bc10914e9d86eb9022d3d84f91eae92500d915abfdb9e14ce0c2dcd4fa1a820841cf7332449bef03fa71b73f25464c656d7c1705201bb7f4d7e98edac4e337
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187834/cdc_187834_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 116.19 KB ]