PREVALENCE OF IMPAIRED LUNG FUNCTION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN FLOUR MILL WORKERS IN AHMEDNAGAR CITY: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY
IMPAIRED LUNG FUNCTION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN FLOUR MILL WORKERS
Keywords:
Flour mill workers, Respiratory problems, PEFR, St. George Questionnaire.Abstract
Background: A major problem in developing countries is indoor air pollution and in India a major problem is the lack of awareness. A study says that flour mill workers, on average are exposed to such an environment for 8-10 hrs. a day. This prolongs exposure to flour mill dust and poor ventilation leads to respiratory complications. St. George’s respiratory questionnaire is one of the reliable methods to quantify health status in patients with chronic airflow limitation and also, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) has been proven to be a useful tool in assessing airway obstruction9 which is common in flour mill workers. Procedure: The 50 flour mill workers was selected for study according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The PEFR values and St. George Questionnaire was taken and the domains affected were seen. Result: The prevalence of respiratory problems in flour mill workers was 71%. Conclusion: There is a higher prevalence of respiratory problems in flour mill workers due to prolonged exposure to flour mill dust and poor ventilation.
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