A Cross-Sectional Study of Pulmonary Function Tests in Grain Workers in Wardha District

摘要

Agriculture is one of the most hazardous occupations. The Cross-Sectional study was conducted to determine the Pulmonary function parameters of the study subjects and to co-relate the Pulmonary function parameters with their occupation. Pulmonary Functions (FVC, FEV1 & FEV1/FVC ratio) was tested with computerized RMS Medspiror in sitting position of 100 grain workers and 100 sedentary workers. The sedentary people were having higher mean of observed FVC, FEV1 & FEV1% of 86.98%, 84.85% & 98.76% as compared to grain workers with 79.52%, 77.59% & 91.82% respectively. By Least Significant Difference (LSD) Post Hoc Range test, it was seen that there was significant difference among the mean of the predicted value of FVC, FEV1, FEV1 % of Grain workers with sedentary. Paucity of data concerning health and safety of agricultural workers provides strong rationale for rural health professionals to initiate research and educational programs focusing on health promotion/safety needs of agricultural workers. Introduction At the beginning of the 20th century, grain workers were believed to be healthier than the general population. Exposure to fresh countryside air and physical work were thought to be the source of this improved health. Agriculture is so intimately tied to the land, that it had generated many myths about the health of grain workers (1,2). The long-standing “agrarian myth” was exemplified in Thomas Jefferson's declaration that “Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bonds” (3). Unfortunately, the myth of the robust, reliably healthy grain worker was in actuality a myth that does not correspond with the realities of agricultural life (4). Agriculture is considered one of the most hazardous occupations. Grain workers not only had significantly higher rates of mortality from occupational injuries, but they also had higher rates of many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1). Respiratory diseases associated with agriculture were one of the first-recognized occupational hazards. As early as 1555, Olaus Magnus warned about the dangers of inhaling grain dusts, and the risk was again noted in 1700 by Ramazzini in his seminal work De Morbis Artificum (5). Yet, despite this early recognition of respiratory hazards in agriculture, it has only been in the 20th century that this problem has been carefully studied and documented. In general, the investigation of agricultural respiratory hazards has lagged behind the investigation of hazards in mining and other heavy industries. These agricultural hazards, however, are of serious concern. (6)The range of lung diseases resulting from agricultural work is not surprising when one looks at the breadth and high concentration of toxic exposures on the farm. Pulmonary toxins include organic dusts (animal, vegetable products, pollens), infectious agents (bacteria, fungi, viruses, mycobacterium), endotoxins and glucans, toxic chemicals (solvents, fuels, disinfectants), pesticides (paraquat, fungicides, organophosphates), gases from silos, welding and animal waste (NH3, Cl2, H2S, CO2, CO, NO, NO2, etc), inorganic dusts (silica, silicates, clays), fertilizers, and feed additives (7). The impact on the respiratory system may also vary considerably. Indeed, the spectrum of respiratory diseases from agricultural exposures reads like a textbook of occupational lung disease. Organic exposures may affect the airways and, depending on the antigenicity of the material and host susceptibility, may result in asthma, asthma-like syndrome, or chronic obstructive airway disease (6). The changing patterns of agriculture have paradoxically contributed to both improved working conditions and increased exposure to respiratory hazards (4).Ample data, described in part in these pages, confirm th