Lung Function Assessment among Wood Workers at Mangalore, India

Objective: To assess the effect on the pulmonary system among wood workers using the most important pulmonary function tests. M ethodology: Male wood workers of  age ranging from 20-50 yrs from a wood industry in Mangalore were examined. Spirometric tests were carried out. Forced vital capacity and slow vital capacity tests were done on each subjects. Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) , Forced Expiratory Volume over the 1 st Second (FEV1) and FEV1/FVC – were observed and interpreted. The severity of obstructive and restrictive pulmonary airway was gauged using an electronic spirometer. Results: Almost half of the subjects demonstrated readings expressing mild to moderate obstructive and restrictive airway functions. A very small proportion showed severe obstructive airway function. Considerable decrease in spirometric parameters were found between group exposed to wood dust for less than 5 years and group exposed to wood dust for more than 10 years. Conclusion : The findings of the study suggests that wood dust adversely affects the pulmonary system and also recommends that measures should be taken to reduce the degree of exposure of respirable wood dust. Keywords :  wood dust, pulmonary function test, Forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume over first second.