Smoking, respiratory symptoms, and pulmonary function among a population of Hispanic farmworkers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gamsky TE ; McCurdy SA ; Samuels SJ ; Schenker MB
• Description:
  A cross sectional study was conducted of respiratory symptoms, smoking, and pulmonary function in a population of Hispanic farmworkers in California's Central Valley region. The 747 subjects received pulmonary function tests, and data on work exposure and occupational history were collected. Comparisons were made with reference populations of Hispanics in New Mexico and Arizona. The crude prevalence of smoking was higher in men (34%) than in women (13%) and higher among older than younger individuals; however, the number of cigarettes smoked per day was lower than in the reference populations. Crude prevalences of chronic cough, chronic phlegm, and persistent wheeze were low. All disorders were higher with field work and highest in smokers. In women, symptom prevalences were all elevated in ever smokers compared to never smokers. Analysis showed increased risk for all respiratory symptoms among women, current smokers, older workers, and those working 8 or more months per year in agriculture. Adjusted lung function in both men and women was higher than in the reference populations. The authors conclude that lower cigarette consumption and the healthy worker effect were probably responsible for the reduced prevalence of respiratory symptoms in the studied population. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Agriculture Asthma Asthma, Occupational Demography Epidemiology Farmers Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Sex Characteristics Smokers Surveys And Questionnaires Tobacco Products

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• Keywords:
  Age-factors Agricultural-industry Agricultural-processes Agricultural-workers Bronchial-asthma Cigarette-smoking Demographic-characteristics Lung-disease Lung-function Occupational-exposure Pulmonary-system-disorders Questionnaires Respiratory-system-disorders Sex-factors Statistical-analysis

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• ISSN:
  0012-3692
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  101
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00207127
• Citation:
  Chest 1991 May; 101(5):1361-1368
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Davis
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19900930
• Source Full Name:
  Chest
• End Date:
  20020929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d6cde1b0fe48c4d6cac5370244f8d0692a7d3cca3f9ed101d0a9a94781260238cd94451edb1305c488421e3bb01ab5edd218f5650b4be570098717bc1ec4a14b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/205612/cdc_205612_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.50 MB ]