An Epidemiologic Study of Respiratory Health Effects in a Group of North Carolina Furniture Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Goldsmith DF ; Shy, Carl M.
• Description:
  Woodworking is known to be associated with nasal cancer and with western red cedar asthma, but research is inconsistent with regard to respiratory health effects among furniture workers. The authors tested the hypotheses that employment in a North Carolina hardwood furniture plant was related to the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and to impairment of pulmonary function. Chronic symptom prevalence generally showed no significant differences between wood dust jobs and control exposures; however, frequent sneezing and eye irritation were significantly (P <.05) correlated with wood dust exposed jobs; in both cases the prevalence odds ratio was 4.0. Peak flow was the only pulmonary function measure that correlated significantly (P=.0345) with wood dust employment. The difference in forced vital capacity suggested a weak association with current employment in finishing jobs, whereas the difference in peak flow showed a modest correlation with the fraction of particulate <10 micro m. The relevance of the present associations to regulatory changes and research needs is discussed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Epidemiology Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Wood
• Keywords:
  Dust Exposure Furniture Industry Furniture Workers Health Effects Occupational Exposure Wood Dust Woodworkers Woodworking Industry
• ISSN:
  0096-1736
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  30
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060078
• Citation:
  J Occup Med 1988 Dec; 30(12):959-965
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Goldsmith, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of California-IEHR, Davis, CA 96616
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1989
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19820301
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational Medicine
• End Date:
  19831231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:33e799b2b193ce64ca736af1efe0e4624bf63e69e91972215338328e5d6f72a1ca8187411e005ab7bd5e93fc592f214a04dad38b8e76c8f75d0cbf3109f50e3e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224106/cdc_224106_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 678.44 KB ]