Study of respiratory impairment among pesticide sprayers in mango plantations.
Rastogi S. K., Gupta B. N., Husain T., Mathur N., Garg N.
Author Affiliation: Epidemiology Division, Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow, India.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine 16 : 529-538
Abstract : Pulmonary function was studied in 489 pesticide workers engaged in spraying 9 kinds of insecticides on mango in India in 1986-87. Pulmonary impairment, which was 36.5%, did not differ significantly from that in a control group (41.5%) taken from the same socioeconomic stratum in the same area. The commonest impairment among exposed subjects (18.8%) and controls (16.9%) was of the restrictive type, followed by mixed ventilatory defect. Bronchial obstruction affected 2.5 and 3.7%, resp. There was a significant increasing trend in the rate of respiratory impairment with degree of exposure.