Table 3.
Oil spill experiences and lung function among oil spill response and cleanup workers with spirometry quality ≥ grade C*
| Complete case (N=4,263) |
Imputation (N=6,048) |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| N(%) | Mean Difference (95% CI)† |
Mean Difference (95% CI)† |
|
| Smelled oil, dispersants, or cleaning chemicals | |||
| FEV1(mL) | 2479 (58) | 35 (−0.34, 70) | 19 (−12, 49) |
| FVC(mL) | 32 (−9, 73) | 25 (−10, 61) | |
| FEV1/FVC% | 0.31 (−0.10, 0.71) | 0.06 (−0.29, 0.42) | |
| Skin or clothing in contact with oil/tar/oily water | |||
| FEV1(mL) | 2741 (64) | −18 (−55, 19) | −16 (−47, 16) |
| FVC(mL) | −13 (−56, 30) | −2 (−39, 35) | |
| FEV1/FVC% | −0.13 (−0.55, 0.30) | −0.24 (−0.61, 0.13) | |
| Body or clothing ever became wet with chemicals | |||
| FEV1(mL) | 1453 (34) | 14 (−22, 50) | 22 (−10, 54) |
| FVC(mL) | 3 (−40, 46) | 22 (−16, 59) | |
| FEV1/FVC% | 0.31 (−0.11, 0.73) | 0.17 (−0.20, 0.54) | |
| Ever had to stop working because you were hot | |||
| FEV1(mL) | 1788 (42) | −8 (−43, 27) | −9 (−39, 22) |
| FVC(mL) | −17 (−58, 24) | −15 (−, 21) | |
| FEV1/FVC% | 0.21 (−0.19, 0.62) | 0.13 (−0.22, 0.49) | |
| Job involving oily plants/wildlife or dead animal recovery | |||
| FEV1(mL) | 1739 (41) | −60 (−97, −23) | −49 (−81, −16) |
| FVC(mL) | −44 (−88, −1) | −37 (−74, 1) | |
| FEV1/FVC% | −0.58 (−1.01, −0.15) | −0.46 (−0.84, −0.08) | |
| Worked as a commercial fisherman full-time, part-time or seasonally | |||
| FEV1(mL) | 716 (17) | 25 (−24, 75) | 12 (−30, 54) |
| FVC(mL) | 25 (−33, 84) | 9 (−40, 59) | |
| FEV1/FVC% | 0.25 (−0.32. 0.82) | 0.10 (−0.39. 0.59) | |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; N(%), number of participants exposed in the complete case sample; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC, forced vital capacity, mL, milliliters.
Quality ≥C is defined as having three acceptable curves that meet the American Thoracic Society/ European Respiratory Society inter-maneuver criteria and between-maneuver criteria with reproducibility of ≤150mL or equivalent deemed by a spirometry expert.
Adjusted for: Maximum ordinal total hydrocarbon exposure levels, potential exposure to burning oil/gas, potential dispersant exposure, age, height, height2, weight, gender, ethnicity, race, pre-spill diabetes, pre-spill lung disease, income, education, employment at time of enrollment, previous oil industry experience, previous oil spill cleanup work, residential proximity to coast, smoking, secondhand smoke.