Evaluation of lung function in voluntary fire fighters: preliminary results

Background. This study investigated possible adverse effects of fire fighting on lung function in voluntary fire fighters (VFF). Methods. 328 out of 332 male VFF (98.8% response rate) and 125 male referents (100% response rare) participated. 290 VFF (88.4%) and 114 referents (91.2%) met the ECSC criteria for standardized lung function testing (1993). A Vitalograph(R)-Alpha spirometer was used. Smoking and sporting habits and respiratory and familial antecedents were inquired in a standardized questionnaire. Individual estimated number of fire interventions was used as exposure parameter. Statistics included analysis of variance and of covariance. Fisher's exact test and t-test were used where appropriate. Results. Overall, VFF had higher levels for FVC, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC ratio than referents. After correction for age, height and smoking habits, differences were significant for measured FEV1 and FEV1% (p<0.005). High-exposed VFF showed, after correction for smoking habits, significantly lower FEV1% values than low-exposed VFF, but significantly higher values than referents (p