Pulmonary health risks among northwest loggers

Thomas B. Stibolt, William M. Vollmer, Lynn E. McCamant, Larry R. Johnson, Robert S. Bernstein, A. Sonia Buist

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Spirometry, respiratory symptom questionnaires, and chest radiographs were obtained from 688 loggers in Oregon and Washington. These were compared against previously published National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health studies of nonexposed blue-collar workers to determine if these predictions fít our population. The loggers forced expiratory volume in 1 second and forced vital capacity values were significantly greater than predicted, and their forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity values were less than predicted. The only consistent difference in symptoms between the sample and reference populations was for recent chest illnesses, which were more prevalent in the loggers than in the reference population. The chest radiographs showed a small excess of pleural thickening that we believe is most likely due to chest trauma. We conclude that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health studies spirometry prediction equations may not be generalized to other blue-collar populations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)699-704
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Occupational Medicine
Volume33
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1991

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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