engleski

Effects of duration of exposure to irritants on ventilatory functions

The aim of the study was to see how how duration of exposure reflected on test results of ventilatory function in chemical industry workers exposed to low concentractions of irritants. The study comprised 702 workers of whom 567 were men and 135 women. The measurement of ventilatory functions comprised forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and maximum forced expiratory flow at 50% (FEF50) and the last 25% of vital capacity (FEF25). The effect of exposure duration was analyzed using the multiple regressions. The study confirmed that exposure duration affected the FVC and FEV1 results by 6-9% whereas the effect on FEV1/FVC and FEF50 was somewhat lower. The analysis showed that smokers and nonsmokers, as well as sexes differ in the effect of exposure duration to irritant. The negative linear correlation proved more significant between the flow in the small airways and exposure duration than age in nonsmokers.

Lung functions; respiratory irritants

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