Respiratory Symptoms and Ventilatory Capacity in Metal Polishers

To evaluate the long-term effects of metal dusts on the bronchopulmonary system and the synergistic effect of cigarette smoke, a comparative study of spirometric measurements in 104 polishers and 90 unexposed controls was carried out in 25 brass and steelware polish-ing industries at Moradabad in northern India. The two groups were comparable in terms of age, height, smoking habit and socio-economic status. A total of 58.6 % of the polish-ers had one or more respiratory symptoms, compared to only 25.5 % of the controls (P<0.05). Chronic cough was present in 21 polishers (20.2%) as compared to 11.1 % of the controls. However, this difference was insignificant. Chronic phlegm was nearly three times as frequent among the polishers as among the controls (17.5 % vs 4.4%) (P<0.005). The prevalence of dyspnoea of varying grades was also significantly higher (16.3 % as opposed to 4.4%) among the exposed groups. Chronic bronchitis (6.7%) and occupational asthma (4.8%) were found to be confined to polishers. The polishers also experienced acute respi-ratory symptoms during the work shift. The prevalence of acute respiratory symptoms was recorded for cough in 19 workers (44.1%) followed by dyspnoea in 14 workers (32.5%) and throat irritation in 11 workers (25.5%). Comparison of the mean values of pulmonar