Association between welding related respiratory symptoms and metal fume fever, duration of employment, smoking, and physician diagnosed asthma estimated by univariate logistic regression analysis
| Cough | Wheezing | Chest tightness | At least 2 respiratory symptoms | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OR | 95% CI | OR | 95% CI | OR | 95% CI | OR | 95% CI | |
| *<20 pack-years; **⩾20 pack-years. | ||||||||
| †Physician diagnosed as reported by the welders. | ||||||||
| Models | ||||||||
| 1. Possible MFF (n=69) | 3.20 | 1.74 to 5.86 | 4.33 | 2.31 to 8.12 | 4.42 | 2.35 to 8.30 | 3.97 | 2.06 to 7.63 |
| 2. Probable MFF (n=42) | 4.08 | 2.04 to 8.17 | 3.97 | 1.93 to 8.13 | 4.7 | 2.29 to 9.64 | 4.15 | 1.98 to 8.71 |
| 3. Employment (years) | ||||||||
| 1–9 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| 10–19 | 1.85 | 0.81 to 4.23 | 0.73 | 0.33 to 1.60 | 0.99 | 0.43 to 2.3 | 0.96 | 0.42 to 2.16 |
| 20–29 | 0.85 | 0.33 to 2.19 | 0.38 | 0.15 to 0.99 | 0.88 | 0.36 to 2.16 | 0.47 | 0.18 to 1.24 |
| 30+ | 1.3 | 0.52 to 3.22 | 0.92 | 0.4 to 2.11 | 1.06 | 0.43 to 2.61 | 0.87 | 0.36 to 2.14 |
| 4. Smoking | ||||||||
| Non-smokers | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| Light smokers* | 0.88 | 0.45 to 1.74 | 0.93 | 0.45 to 1.89 | 1.01 | 0.49 to 2.09 | 0.88 | 0.42 to 1.85 |
| Heavy smokers** | 1.16 | 0.57 to 2.38 | 1.13 | 0.53 to 2.42 | 1.33 | 0.62 to 2.86 | 1.16 | 0.53 to 2.53 |
| 5. Asthma† | 2.52 | 0.91 to 7.00 | 4.94 | 1.85 to 13.17 | 2.92 | 1.04 to 8.14 | 4.16 | 1.53 to 11.31 |