Occup Environ Med 2001;58:405-410 ( June )

Exposure assessment and lung function in pig and poultry farmers

K Radon^a, C Weber^b, M Iversen^c, B Danuser^b, S Pedersen^d, D Nowak^a

^a Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians- University, Innenstadt, Ziemssenstrasse 1, D-80336, München, Germany, ^b Institute of Hygiene and Applied Physiology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, ^c Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Respiratory Diseases, Aarhus, Denmark, ^d Research Centre Bygholm, Horsens, Denmark

Correspondence to: Dr K Radon Katja.Radon{at}arbeits.med.uni-muenchen.de

Accepted 1 February 2001

OBJECTIVESTo describe the relation between spirometric findings and farming characteristics and variables of exposure to organic dust measured during work in animal buildings. Farmers have traditionally been described as having one of the most dangerous occupations, so a large scale study on European farmers was carried out. This is the report of the second part of that study.
METHODS40 pig farmers in Denmark and 36 poultry farmers in Switzerland were chosen randomly and were assessed over 1 working day.
RESULTSMean (SD) baseline spirometric results in pig farmers were higher than in poultry farmers (forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁) (% of reference value) 108.3 (16.7) v 100.2 (14.2); p=0.04). Baseline lung function results were significantly associated with ventilation of the animal houses. Furthermore, temperature was related to spirometric findings in pig farmers.
CONCLUSIONSVentilation of the animal house and temperature might influence respiratory morbidity in farmers.


Keywords: ventilation; micro-organism; European multicentre study

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© 2001 by Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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