Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Industrial Medicine logoLink to British Journal of Industrial Medicine
. 1991 Oct;48(10):656–662. doi: 10.1136/oem.48.10.656

Grain dust and respiratory health in South African milling workers.

M Bachmann 1, J E Myers 1
PMCID: PMC1012056  PMID: 1931723

Abstract

Respiratory health was investigated in 224 grain milling workers. The likelihood of respiratory symptoms and chronic airflow limitation was raised for workers exposed to dust independent of the effects of smoking. Smokers were more likely than non-smokers to respond to a bronchodilator at the end of the working week. Dust was more strongly associated with most abnormal outcomes than was smoking. Subjective categories of exposure to dust were more strongly associated with most abnormal outcomes than were objective categories. The prevalence of all symptoms at the time of a survey conducted at the mill six years before was higher in workers who subsequently left the mill than in those who remained employed although the differences were not significant.

Full text

PDF
656

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Broder I., Corey P., Davies G., Hutcheon M., Mintz S., Inouye T., Hyland R., Leznoff A., Thomas P. Longitudinal study of grain elevator and control workers with demonstration of healthy worker effect. J Occup Med. 1985 Dec;27(12):873–880. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Broder I., Hutcheon M. A., Mintz S., Davies G., Leznoff A., Thomas P., Corey P. Changes in respiratory variables of grain handlers and civic workers during their initial months of employment. Br J Ind Med. 1984 Feb;41(1):94–99. doi: 10.1136/oem.41.1.94. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chan-Yeung M., Enarson D., Grzybowski S. Grain dust and respiratory health. CMAJ. 1985 Nov 15;133(10):969–973. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chan-Yeung M., Lam S. Occupational asthma. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1986 Apr;133(4):686–703. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1986.133.4.686. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Chan-Yeung M., Schulzer M., MacLean L., Dorken E., Tan F., Lam S., Enarson D., Grzybowski S. A follow-up study of the grain elevator workers in the Port of Vancouver. Arch Environ Health. 1981 Mar-Apr;36(2):75–81. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1981.10667610. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Corn M., Esmen N. A. Workplace exposure zones for classification of employee exposures to physical and chemical agents. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 1979 Jan;40(1):47–57. doi: 10.1080/15298667991429318. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Davis G. S., Brody A. R., Craighead J. E. Analysis of airspace and interstitial mononuclear cell populations in human diffuse interstitial lung disease. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1978 Jul;118(1):7–15. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1978.118.1.7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Eisen E. A., Robins J. M., Greaves I. A., Wegman D. H. Selection effects of repeatability criteria applied to lung spirometry. Am J Epidemiol. 1984 Nov;120(5):734–742. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113941. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Enarson D. A., Vedal S., Chan-Yeung M. Rapid decline in FEV1 in grain handlers. Relation to level of dust exposure. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1985 Oct;132(4):814–817. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1985.132.4.814. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gardner R. M., Hankinson J. L., West B. J. Evaluating commercially available spirometers. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1980 Jan;121(1):73–82. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1980.121.1.73. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Myers J. E., Cornell J. E. Respiratory health of brickworkers in Cape Town, South Africa. Symptoms, signs and pulmonary function abnormalities. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1989 Jun;15(3):188–194. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.1863. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Myers J. E. Differential ethnic standards for lung functions, or one standard for all? S Afr Med J. 1984 May 12;65(19):768–772. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Standardization of spirometry--1987 update. Statement of the American Thoracic Society. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1987 Nov;136(5):1285–1298. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/136.5.1285. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Tabona M., Chan-Yeung M., Enarson D., MacLean L., Dorken E., Schulzer M. Host factors affecting longitudinal decline in lung spirometry among grain elevator workers. Chest. 1984 Jun;85(6):782–786. doi: 10.1378/chest.85.6.782. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Yach D., Myers J., Bradshaw D., Benatar S. R. A respiratory epidemiologic survey of grain mill workers in Cape Town, South Africa. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1985 Apr;131(4):505–510. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1985.131.4.505. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Industrial Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES