Respiratory Symptoms and Cotton Dust Exposure; Results of a 15 Year Follow Up Observation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Christiani, David C. ; Dai H-L ; Eisen EA ; Olenchock, Stephen A. ; Pan L-D ; Sun B-X ; Wang X-R ; Wegman, David H. ; Zhang H-X
• Description:
  To determine chronic effects of long term exposure to cotton dust and endotoxin on incidence of respiratory symptoms and the effect of cessation of exposure. Respiratory health in 429 Chinese cotton textile workers (study group) and 449 silk textile workers (control group) was followed prospectively from 1981 to 1996. Byssinosis, chest tightness, and non-specific respiratory symptoms were assessed by means of identical standardised questionnaires at four time points. Exposures to cotton dust and endotoxin were estimated using area samples collected at each survey. Incidence and persistence of symptoms were examined in relation to cumulative exposure and exposure cessation using generalised estimating equations (GEE). Among cotton workers, the cumulative incidence of byssinosis and chest tightness was 24% and 23%, respectively, and was significantly more common in smokers than in non-smokers. A high proportion of symptoms was found to be intermittent, rather than persistent. Among silk workers, no typical byssinosis was identified; the incidence of chest tightness was 10%. Chronic bronchitis, cough, and dyspnoea were more common and persistent in the cotton group than in the silk group. Significantly lower odds ratios for symptoms were observed in cotton workers who left the cotton mills; risk was also related to years since last worked. Multivariate analysis indicated a trend for higher cumulative exposure to endotoxin in relation to a higher risk for byssinosis. Chronic exposure to cotton dust is related to both work specific and non-specific respiratory symptoms. Byssinosis is more strongly associated with exposure to endotoxin than to dust. Cessation of exposure may improve the respiratory health of cotton textile workers; the improvement appears to increase with time since last exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Dust Endotoxins Gossypium Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires Textile Industry

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• Keywords:
  Bronchial-asthma Cotton-dust Cotton-mill-workers Dust-exposure Dusts Occupational-exposure Occupational-health Pulmonary-system-disorders Questionnaires Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-analysis Risk-factors Sampling Textile-workers Textiles-industry

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• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  60
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20029260
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2003 Dec; 60(12):935-941
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr D Christiani, Occupational Health Program, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
• Email:
  dchris@hohp.harvard.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19870701
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20220831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5fe0d6add48cf630ac7bccc9946331d677f1875a3f475840c2c8222f9cc1012da74f0737034e7ac7f8cb138aa362eb54cff3626be3eafe4a60d93fad93f7a1f8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/190288/cdc_190288_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 190.40 KB ]