Dose-response of cotton dust exposure with lung function among textile workers: MultiTex study in Karachi, Pakistan

Authors

Naureen Akber Ali, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Asaad Ahmed Nafees, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Zafar Fatmi, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Iqbal Azam Syed, Aga Khan UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Department

Community Health Sciences; School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Cotton dust exposure among textile mill workers lead to impaired lung function. However, only few studies have investigated the dose-response relationship between cotton dust and lung function.
Objective: To determine the dose-response relationship between cotton dust exposure and lung function among textile workers.
Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted from January to March 2016 and included 303 adult male textile workers from spinning and weaving sections of 5 mills in Karachi, Pakistan. We collected data through a translated version of the American Thoracic Society respiratory questionnaire (ATS-DLD-78A) and using spirometry. Mill-level airborne cotton dust was measured over an 8-12-hour shift through UCB-PATS (University of California, Berkeley-Particle, and Temperature Monitoring System). Multiple linear regression was used to determine the association between cotton dust exposure and lung function assessed through the 3 indices: forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV₁), forced vital capacity (FVC), and their ratio (FEV₁/FVC).
Results: The mean age of the workers was 32.5 (SD 10.5) years. The mean spirometry indices expressed in percent predicted values were FEV₁ 82.6 (SD 14.0); FVC 90.3 (14.7), and FEV₁/FVC 94.9 (10.5). The median cotton dust concentration was 0.61 (IQR 0.2 to 1.3) mg/m³. The frequency of respiratory symptoms was 15% for cough, 20% for phlegm, and 20% for wheezing. After adjustment for covariates, every mg/m³ increase in dust concentration was associated with 5.4% decline in FEV₁.
Conclusion: This study quantifies the exposure-dependent relationship between cotton dust and lung function; which has implications for regulations and standards in the textile industry in Pakistan and similar cotton-processing countries.

Publication (Name of Journal)

The international journal of occupational and environmental medicine

Recommended Citation

Ali, N. A., Nafees, A. A., Fatmi, Z., Syed, I. A. (2018). Dose-response of cotton dust exposure with lung function among textile workers: MultiTex study in Karachi, Pakistan. The international journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 9(3), 120-128.
Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_son/331

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.