Poultry processing work and respiratory health of Latino men and women in North Carolina

Details

• Personal Author:
  Arcury TA ; Blocker JN ; Chatterjee AB ; Chen H ; Grzywacz JG ; Marín AJ ; Mirabelli MC ; Mora DC ; Quandt SA ; Schulz MR ; Arcury TA ; Blocker JN ; Chatterjee AB ; Chen H ; Grzywacz JG ; Marín AJ ; Mirabelli MC ; Mora DC ; Quandt SA ; Schulz MR
• Description:
  Rationale: Poultry processing workers encounter numerous inhalation hazards on the job, but little is known about the respiratory health status of this workforce. We conducted this study to evaluate the association between poultry processing work and respiratory health among working Latino men and women in North Carolina. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among adults living in communities surrounding three poultry processing plants. Between May 2009 and November 2010, 402 poultry processing workers and 339 workers in a comparison population employed in other manual jobs completed interviewer-administered questionnaires to provide information about their work activities and respiratory symptoms. Of these participants, 279 (69%) poultry processing workers and 222 (65%) workers in the comparison population also completed spirometry testing to provide measurements of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC). Associations of poultry work, including specific poultry processing job activities, with nasal symptoms, current asthma, and measurements of lung function were evaluated using general estimating equations (GEE) to accommodate non-independence of observations resulting from our recruitment of participants within housing units and recruitment sites. Results: Among the 402 poultry processing workers, packing (26%) and cutting (22%) poultry were the most frequently reported poultry processing activities. Nasal symptoms were reported by 25% of poultry processing workers and 29% of the comparison population. Current asthma was reported by 9% of the poultry processing population and 10% of the comparison population. Neither nasal symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.59, 1.40) nor asthma (AOR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.57, 1.62) were associated with poultry processing overall or with specific poultry processing job activities. Relative to the comparison population, adjusted mean FEV1 and FVC were lower in the poultry processing population, particularly among men (FEV1: -89 mL, 95% CI: -203, 25; FVC: -84 mL, 95% CI: -220, 53) and men who reported sanitation job activities (FEV1: -192 mL, 95% CI: -353, -31; FVC: -206 mL, 95% CI: -421, 9). Conclusions: In this large observational study, poultry processing work was not associated with self-reported respiratory symptoms. Lower measurements of lung function suggest that despite the low prevalence of respiratory symptoms reported, poultry processing work may affect lung function. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Epidemiology Food Industry Lung Men Nose Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Race Factors Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Sense Organs Surveys And Questionnaires Women

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• Keywords:
  Bronchial-asthma Employee-exposure Employee-health Health-surveys Lung-function Nasal-disorders Physiopathology Poultry Poultry-industry Poultry-workers Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-function-tests Questionnaires Racial-factors Respiratory-system-disorders Sanitation Spirometry Vital-capacity

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• ISSN:
  1073-449X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Volume:
  185
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044592
• Citation:
  Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2012 May; 185(Meeting Abstracts):A1181
• Contact Point Address:
  M. C. Mirabelli, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing ; Manufacturing
• Performing Organization:
  Wake Forest University Health Sciences - Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20080930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
• Supplement:
  Meeting Abstracts
• End Date:
  20140929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f34d05e1ba7aeef7ec445e6ec9cd8a818b1f7d792bac7b5c2ae41a3994624b236243dbe8007f0e154e3b6cd21404ce2f2a024634a9d93e51b866354a6d69e8b4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200261/cdc_200261_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 19.09 KB ]