TABLE 1.
Characteristics of the study participants
| Characteristic | Resulta for:
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory employees (n = 213) | Exposed blood donors (n = 398) | Nonexposed blood donors (n = 406) | All participants (n = 1,017) | |
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 192 (90.1)b | 188 (47.2)c | 226 (55.7) | 606 (59.6) |
| Female | 21 (9.9) | 210 (52.8) | 180 (44.3) | 411 (40.4) |
| Age (yr) | ||||
| Median | 44 | 46d | 43 | 44 |
| Range | 20-62 | 18-69 | 19-68 | 18-69 |
| Smoker | ||||
| Yes | 73 (34.3) | 113 (28.4) | 64 (15.8)e,f | 250 (24.6) |
| 0-10 cigarettes/day | 20 (27.4) | 75 (66.4) | 49 (77.8) | 144 (57.8) |
| >10 cigarettes/day | 53 (72.6)b | 38 (33.6) | 14 (22.2) | 105 (42.2) |
| No | 140 (65.7) | 285 (71.6) | 340 (84.2) | 765 (75.4) |
| Chronic lung diseases | ||||
| Yes | 14 (6.6)b | 10 (2.5) | 9 (2.2) | 33 (3.3) |
| No | 199 (93.4) | 385 (97.5) | 395 (97.8) | 979 (96.7) |
| Airway infections in May 2005 | ||||
| Yes | 30 (14.1)b | 28 (7.2) | 17 (4.3) | 75 (7.5) |
| No | 171 (80.3) | 323 (82.6) | 344 (86.6) | 838 (83.7) |
| Uncertain | 12 (5.6) | 40 (10.2) | 36 (9.1) | 88 (8.8) |
a
Data represent the numbers (percentages) of participants, unless otherwise indicated.
b
Significantly higher (P ≤ 0.015) than for the other two groups.
c
Significantly lower (P = 0.0168) than for nonexposed blood donors.
d
Significantly higher (P ≤ 0.031) than for the other two groups.
e
Significantly lower (P = 0.0001) than for the other two groups.
f
One smoker did not specify cigarette consumption.