Pulmonary function impairment in female workers exposed to environments with varied ambient air pollution in the central business area of Lusaka-Zambia
Date
2015
Authors
Siachingili, Lumba
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
Previous studies have highlighted the role of ambient fine particulate matter as an
important cause of both mortality and morbidity for many respiratory illnesses.
When inhaled, PM2.5 causes to the airways and lungs obstructive, restrictive or both
types of functional impairment through generation of highly reactive oxygen species.
Physiological consequence is functional impairment manifested by reduced forced
expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), functional vital capacity (FVC) and their
ratio (i.e. FEV1/FVC).
In Zambia, cleaners play an important role in maintaining health and hygiene. The
nature of their job exposes them to varying degrees of PM2.5. The levels of PM2.5 in
ambient Lusaka air are not known, and health-based limits for dust control in the
work places are lacking.
The study was undertaken in order to examine the associations between lung
function status of female adult cleaners and fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
concentrations in ambient Lusaka air.
Materials and Methods
The study included women between 18-50 years of age who had been working as
street or office cleaners for 6 months or more. The cleaners were interviewed to get
information on socio-demographic characteristics and other information using a
structured interview schedule. The participants’ lung volumes, forced expiratory
volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and their ratio
(FEV1/FVC) were measured using a MRI spirobank G spirometer. On the day of the
interview, PM2.5 in their work environment was sampled using a personal aerosol
monitor (SIDEPAK AM510).
The biomedical ethics committee of the University of Zambia, school of medicine,
approved the research. Data were analysed using SPSS (version 20) for windows.
Results
Out of the 90 participants, 45 were street sweepers and 45 were office cleaners. More
street sweepers had impaired lung function (FEV1/FVC) 15(75%) than office
cleaners 5(25%). FEV1 was also significantly different among street sweepers
12(70.6%) and office cleaners 5(29.4%). PM2.5 measurements revealed significantly
xv
high levels of exposure among street sweepers. Participants with impaired lung
function and those with reduced FEV1percent predicted were exposed to significantly
high concentrations of PM2.5.
Conclusion/Recommendation: Exposure to high PM2.5 concentration is associated
with pulmonary function impairment and reduced FEV1 % predicted among cleaners.
It is therefore, recommended that cleaners, be subjected to periodic health checks, in
order to check for the development of cardiopulmonary symptoms and necessitate
early intervention.
Description
Keywords
Lung-Diseases-Diagnosis , Pulmonary function tests