Acute restrictive effect associated with working on large California dairies

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bennett DH ; Eastman C ; Mitchell DC ; Mitloehner FM ; Schenker MB ; Tancredi DJ
• Description:
  RATIONALE: Dairy work has been associated with decreased lung function in Europe and the Midwestern and Eastern US. However, California dairies are unique in being open-air and having substantially larger herd sizes. The purpose of our study is to characterize the occupational exposure of California dairy workers and determine if workplace exposures pose a respiratory health risk. METHODS: We hypothesize that dairy work on large California dairies is associated with lower baseline lung function as well as an acute decline in lung function over the work shift. This cross-sectional study of 210 male dairy workers and 47 male control (vegetable processing plant) employees conducted in the summer of 2008 included questionnaires and spirometry pre- and post-work shift. Mixed effects models were used to assess the association between dairy work and lung function values. RESULTS: The average age was 34 (SD=11.0) and 35 years (SD=12.2) for dairy and control participants, respectively. Most were of Mexican or Central American origin, with 94% of dairy and 98% of control workers self-identifying as Hispanic. 27% of dairy workers and 13% of control facility employees were current smokers (p<0.05), with an average of 4.7 (SD=4.4) and 3.6 (SD=5.1) cigarettes per day for dairy and control workers, respectively. Baseline lung function values were generally lower among dairy workers, but the results were only marginally significant for FEV6 (p=0.08). There was no significant association of dairy work with other standard measures of lung flow or volume. Dairy workers experienced a significantly greater cross-shift decrement in FEV1, FEV6, and FVC compared to control workers after adjusting for smoking status, but cross-shift decline was not associated with FEF25-75%, FEV1/FEV6 or FEV1/FVC (Table 1). CONCLUSION: The significant dairy vs. control worker adjusted difference in mean cross-shift declines in FEV1 (p<0.05) suggests a possible association of exposure with airway obstruction, but this is not supported by the results for FEF25-75%, FEV1/FVC or FEV1/FEV6. Significant cross-shift decrement in FEV6 and FVC (p<0.01) suggests an acute restrictive effect among dairy workers. Since baseline values are only marginally associated with dairy work, this appears to be a reversible restrictive effect. Future analyses will include examining tasks around a dairy to see if any specific job or exposure is associated with lung function decrement. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Animals Dairy Products Lung Lung Diseases Men Occupational Health Race Factors Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Safety Smokers Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural-industry Agricultural-products Agricultural-workers Airway-obstruction Dairy-products Health-surveys Humans Lung-disorders Lung-function Pulmonary-function-tests Pulmonary-system-disorders Questionnaires Racial-factors Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-analysis Smoking Spirometry Vital-capacity Work-intervals

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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:
  183
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044523
• Citation:
  Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2011 May; 183:(Meeting Abstracts):A4771
• Contact Point Address:
  C. Eastman, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
• Email:
  ceastman@ucdavis.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• 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-512:1026734809cc461431924e784f7699a5f834768859751d86e2bf98f4ffffc016bc3f6fa247500f8cc66a4777a39654f2b4e2639bfe72e51dcae6c2f10d33225f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200208/cdc_200208_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 28.08 KB ]