Prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms among the food industry cleaners (n = 175) and controls (n = 70) stratified by exposure index Σ and exposure duration
| Exposure group | Chronic bronchitis % (n) | Chronic cough and/or, phlegm % (n) | Bouts of bronchitis % (n) | Dyspnoea % (n) | Asthma % (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Logistic regression analysis. | |||||
| Group definition: non-exposed group: exposure index Σ = 0 and exposure duration in the food industry = 0; group 1 = exposure index Σ <5.24; group 2 = exposure index Σ⩾5.24; duration 1 = exposure duration in the food industry ⩽6 years; duration 2 = exposure duration in the food industry >6 years. | |||||
| Non-exposed group, n = 70 | 4.3 (3) | 15.7 (11) | 5.7 (4) | 17.1 (12) | 7.1 (5) |
| Group 1, n = 90 | 0 | 12.2 (11) | 6.7 (6) | 14.4 (13) | 5.6 (5) |
| Group 2, n = 85 | 0 | 14.1 (12) | 8.2 (7) | 12.9 (11) | 8.2 (7) |
| p value* | >0.5 | >0.5 | >0.5 | >0.5 | >0.5 |
| Non-exposed group, n = 70 | 4.3 (3) | 15.7 (11) | 5.7 (4) | 17.1 (12) | 7.1 (5) |
| Duration 1, n = 89 | 0 | 11.2 (10) | 7.9 (7) | 9 (8) | 4.5 (4) |
| Duration 2, n = 86 | 0 | 15.1 (13) | 7 (6) | 18.6 (16) | 9.3 (8) |
| p value* | >0.5 | >0.5 | >0.5 | 0.3 | >0.5 |