Wheezing in tobacco farm workers in Southern Brazil

Background Tobacco workers are exposed to several respiratory occupational sensitizers. Methods A representative cross‐sectional study was carried out on 2469 tobacco family farming growers. Gender‐stratified multivariate analyses evaluated the association between wheezing and socio‐demographic, beh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of industrial medicine 2015-11, Vol.58 (11), p.1217-1228
Main Authors: Fiori, Nadia Spada, Fassa, Anaclaudia Gastal, Faria, Neice Muller Xavier, Meucci, Rodrigo Dalke, Miranda, Vanessa Iribarrem, Christiani, David C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Agricultural Workers' Diseases - epidemiology
Agricultural Workers' Diseases - etiology
Agriculture - statistics & numerical data
asthma
Asthma - complications
Brazil - epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dust
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
occupational diseases
Occupational Exposure - adverse effects
Prevalence
Respiratory Sounds - etiology
Respiratory Tract Diseases - epidemiology
Respiratory Tract Diseases - etiology
Risk Factors
rural health
Smoking - adverse effects
tobacco
Tobacco Industry - statistics & numerical data
Tobacco Products
wheezing
Young Adult
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Summary:Background Tobacco workers are exposed to several respiratory occupational sensitizers. Methods A representative cross‐sectional study was carried out on 2469 tobacco family farming growers. Gender‐stratified multivariate analyses evaluated the association between wheezing and socio‐demographic, behavioral, and occupational variables. Results Wheezing prevalence was 11.0% with no difference between genders. Among men, age, smoking, strenuous work, pesticide use, contact with vegetable dust and dried tobacco dust, lifting sticks with tobacco leaves to the curing barns, and green tobacco sickness (GTS) were risk factors for wheezing. Among women, family history of asthma, tying hands of tobacco, strenuous work, contact with chemical disinfectants, and GTS were positively associated with wheezing. Harvesting lower tobacco leaves was a protective factor for the outcome in both genders. Conclusions Pesticides, dusts exposure, and GTS were risk factors for wheezing. The synergic effect of these factors needs to be better evaluated to improve prevention. Am. J. Ind. Med. 58:1217–1228, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN:0271-3586
1097-0274
1097-0274
DOI:10.1002/ajim.22447