Lung Function and Respiratory Symptoms in Hard Metal Workers Exposed to Cobalt

Objective: To follow-up lung function and airway symptoms in workers exposed to cobalt dust at a hard metal plant. Methods: A total of 582 employees underwent spirometry and completed a questionnaire. A historical exposure matrix was created, assigning figures for historical and recent work-related...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2012-04, Vol.54 (4), p.409-413
Main Authors: Rehfisch, Pia, Anderson, Martin, Berg, Peter, Lampa, Erik, Nordling, Yvonne, Svartengren, Magnus, Westberg, Håkan, Gunnarsson, Lars-Gunnar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Asthma - chemically induced
Asthma - epidemiology
Asthma - physiopathology
Biological and medical sciences
Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases
Cobalt
Cobalt - toxicity
Female
Human exposure
Humans
Lung - physiopathology
Male
Medical sciences
Metallurgy - statistics & numerical data
Metals and various inorganic compounds
Metalworking industry
Middle Aged
Occupational Diseases - chemically induced
Occupational Diseases - epidemiology
Occupational Diseases - physiopathology
Occupational Exposure - adverse effects
Occupational Exposure - statistics & numerical data
Occupational health
Original Article
Prevalence
Respiratory diseases
Respiratory Function Tests
Smoking - adverse effects
Smoking - epidemiology
Smoking - physiopathology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Toxicology
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Summary:Objective: To follow-up lung function and airway symptoms in workers exposed to cobalt dust at a hard metal plant. Methods: A total of 582 employees underwent spirometry and completed a questionnaire. A historical exposure matrix was created, assigning figures for historical and recent work-related exposure. Results: At the time of employment, 5% reported symptoms from respiratory tract. At follow-up, 5% suffered from persistent coughing and 7% reported asthma; 20% were daily smokers. Among nonsmokers without asthma, an evident, statistically nonsignificant, dose-response effect was seen between increasing cobalt exposure and decline in FEV₁ (forced expiratory volume in the first second). In all exposure categories, the FEV1 in smokers declined 10 mL more per year than for nonsmokers. Conclusions: Even low levels of cobalt exposure seem to hamper lung function both in smokers and nonsmokers. This impact is considered low in relation to the effect of aging.
ISSN:1076-2752
1536-5948
1536-5948
DOI:10.1097/jom.0b013e31824d2d7e