Table 1.
Characteristics of Deepwater Horizon disaster response and clean-up workers with 2 acceptable FEV1 and FVC curves by maximum ordinal total hydrocarbon exposure level (n=6,288)
| Characteristics | THc Levels | THc Levels | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2* | 3–4* | ||
| (n=3,247) | (n=3,041) | ||
|
| |||
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | ||
|
| |||
| Age at home visit, years | 43.61 (12.72) | 42.84 (12.60) | 0.02 |
| Height, inches | 67.99 (3.74) | 68.91 (3.38) | <.0001 |
| Weight, lbs | 197.40 (48.04) | 202.68 (46.21) | <.0001 |
|
| |||
| n (%) | n (%) | ||
|
| |||
| Gender | <.0001 | ||
| Female | 974 (30.00) | 305 (10.03) | |
| Male | 2273 (70.00) | 2736 (89.97) | |
| Race | <.0001 | ||
| Black | 1180 (36.34) | 909 (29.89) | |
| White | 1764 (54.33) | 1801 (59.22) | |
| Other | 303 (9.33) | 331 (10.88) | |
| Ethnicity | 1.00 | ||
| Hispanic | 204 (6.28) | 191 (6.28) | |
| Non-Hispanic | 3043 (93.72) | 2850 (93.72) | |
| Smoking status | <.0001 | ||
| Heavy current smoker | 352 (10.84) | 417 (13.71) | |
| Light current smoker | 788 (24.27) | 751 (24.70) | |
| Former smoker | 647 (19.93) | 645 (21.21) | |
| Never smoker | 1460 (44.96) | 1228 (40.38) | |
| Secondhand smoke | 0.001 | ||
| Yes | 885 (27.26) | 950 (31.24) | |
| No | 2362 (72.74) | 2091 (68.76) | |
| Education | <.0001 | ||
| <High school/equivalent | 535 (16.48) | 678 (22.30) | |
| High school diploma/GED | 1072 (33.02) | 1066 (35.05) | |
| Some college/2-year degree | 1036 (31.91) | 950 (31.24) | |
| ≥4-year college graduate | 604 (18.60) | 347 (11.41) | |
| Employment at time of enrollment | 0.01 | ||
| Looking for work/unemployed | 916 (28.21) | 741 (24.37) | |
| Other | 556 (17.12) | 505 (16.61) | |
| Working now | 1775 (54.67) | 1795 (59.03) | |
| Residential proximity to Gulf Coast† | <.0001 | ||
| Direct | 2358 (72.62) | 2191 (72.05) | |
| Indirect | 190 (5.85) | 253 (8.32) | |
| Other Gulf state residence | 699 (21.53) | 597 (19.63) | |
| Previous oil spill clean-up work | <.0001 | ||
| Yes | 232 (7.15) | 289 (9.50) | |
| No | 3015 (92.85) | 2752 (90.50) | |
| Previous oil industry experience | <.0001 | ||
| Yes | 395 (12.17) | 679 (22.33) | |
| No | 2852 (87.83) | 2362 (77.67) | |
| Reported pre-spill lung disease diagnosis | 0.91 | ||
| Yes | 442 (13.61) | 411 (13.52) | |
| No | 2805 (86.39) | 2630 (86.48) | |
| Reported pre-spill diabetes diagnosis | |||
| Yes | 182 (5.61) | 148 (4.87) | 0.19 |
| No | 3065 (94.39) | 2893 (95.13) | |
Abbreviations: THc Level, maximum ordinal total hydrocarbon exposure level; SD, standard deviation
*
Level 1(≤0.29ppm); Level 2(0.30–0.99ppm); Level 3(1.00–2.99ppm); Level 4(≥3.00ppm)
†
Direct proximity is defined as living in a county directly adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico; indirect is defined as living in a county adjacent to coastal counties; other Gulf state residence is defined as living in a Gulf state further from the spill