CORRELATION BETWEEN DURATION OF EXPOSURE TO COTTON DUST AND RESPIRATORY PARAMETERS IN POWERLOOM WORKERS

Background & Objectives: Textile industry is one or the major industry in India and power looms stand as a backbone for the same. The people working in Power looms are continuously exposed to cotton dust which poses risk of respiratory disorders over the period of time. The present study was conducted with objectives of comparing the lung functions in subjects exposed to cotton dust with those unexposed and to find the correlation between duration of exposure to and respiratory parameters. Methods: This was an observational, cross sectional type of study conducted in the Department of Physiology at B.J.Medical College, Ahmedabad with the help of computerized spirometer RMS HELIOS-702. Total 100 subjects, 50 power loom workers and 50 controls were included in the study. After noting the anthropometric and general examination findings, respiratory parameters viz. Forced vital capacity (FVC), Forced expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, Forced expiratory volume in 0.5 second (FEV 0.5), FEV 0.5/FVC, Forced expiratory volume 3 sec (FEV 3), FEV3/FVC, Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), Peak inspiratory flow rate (PIFR) and Maximum voluntary ventilation in minutes (MVV) were noted. Comparative analysis between both groups and correlation of the parameters with duration of exposure to cotton dust was done by student’s unpaired t test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient test respectively Results: All the respiratory parameters were reduced in power loom workers as compared with control subjects. There was statistically significant reduction in FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, FEV 0.5, FEV 0.5/FVC, FEV 3, FEV3/FVC, PEFR and MVV in exposed groups. Strong negative correlation was observed between duration of exposure and FVC, FEV1, PEFR, FEV 3 & FEF 50. Moderate negative correlation was observed between duration of exposure and FEV1/FVC & FEV 0.5. Interpretation and conclusion: Cotton dust exposure makes huge impact on respiratory parameters of the power loom workers. This deterioration in respiratory health deteriorates with increasing duration of exposure. The health hazards caused by cotton dust should be controlled by creating awareness among the workers & employers.