Symptoms in Aluminum Smelter Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Daroowalla, Feroza ; Kaufman JD ; Siadaty M ; Siahpush H ; Thomas K
• Description:
  Predictors of incident respiratory symptoms described in aluminum smelter workers remain unclear. We analyzed data from a longitudinal study of naive aluminum smelter workers. The Venables asthma-like symptom instrument and the ATS respiratory symptom instrument were administered to workers at hire and then several times after work exposure had started. The presence of two or more Venables symptoms (cough, wheeze or breathlessness) defined the asthma-like complex. Results: Of the 87 subjects who had valid one-year follow-up assessment; II (12.2%) workers developed new asthma-like symptom complex. 1 13 subjects had at least one valid follow-up between 6 months and 2 years after hire; of these 19 (16.9 %) had developed asthma-like symptom complex by their last follow-up interview (mean duration of follow-up = 1.6 yrs). Subjects with FEV,/FVC < 0.75 at hire had a 3.7 fold risk (95% CI: 1.7,8.1) of developing a new asthma-like complex by their last follow-up compared to those with higher FEV, ratio. Smokers at hire were 2.1 (CI: 0.9,4.7) times more likely to develop asthma-like symptom complex compared to never or ex-smokers. Atopy (measured by skin prick testing) at hire and parental asthma or allergy were not associated with development of the symptom complex. One year after hire 13.0% (12) of workers had developed new phlegm and 10.6% (10) had developed cough (A TS instrument). Smokers at hire had an increased risk for developing incident phlegm production (5.9 [1.4,29.1]). Conclusions: Naive aluminum smelter workers developed asthma-like symptoms within one year of exposure to the potroom Reduced FEV,/FYC ratio at hire was associated with increased likelihood for symptom development. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Compounds Irritants Metals Metal Workers Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Skin Smokers
• Keywords:
  Aluminum-compounds Aluminum-industry Aluminum-oxides Metal-fumes Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiration Respiratory-gases Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Skin-tests Smoking

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• ISSN:
  1073-449X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  165
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022928
• Citation:
  Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002 Apr; 165(8)(Suppl):A19
• CAS Registry Number:
  Aluminum (CAS RN 7429-90-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington Department of Enviromental Health Seatte Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19970930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2002 International Conference, The American Thoracic Society, Atlanta Georgia, May 17-22, 2002
• Supplement:
  Suppl
• End Date:
  20010929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cf40f24dfa5d62f1e5062ac75cf0352eed5fb9e1ed94ac4d023b0676bddefdb558d0c74645e713b414ddf597fbabe201d51eed8423e9e0f84a783b29884dfd23
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199539/cdc_199539_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 190.21 KB ]