The prevalence of varicose veins was studied in 504 women cotton workers in England and 467 in Egypt, by a standardized questionary and a specially developed method of examination. The English mill population showed a much higher prevalence of varicose veins than the Egyptian, probably owing to environmental rather than ethnic reasons.Among the European women the prevalence of varicose veins was significantly related to age, parity, body weight, type of corsetry, and occupation-that is, whether or not they stood at their work. After standardizing for the other variables there was a statistically significant excess of varicose veins in women wearing corsets and roll-ons compared with those wearing less-constrictive garments. After a similar standardization a significant excess was found in women who stood at their work compared with those whose jobs entailed walking or sitting.

Respiratory symptoms, disease and lung function were studied in 376 families with 816 children who participated in a survey in three USA towns. Parental smoking had no effect on children's symptoms and lung function. Also, there was no evidence that passive smoking affected either lung function or symptoms of adults. There was no association between prevalence of self-reported cough and/or phlegm in parents and their children. There was a highly significant association between the prevalence of wheeze in parents and their younger children, for whom parents reported this symptom. Wheeze in children was also significantly associated with a parental history of asthma, and lung function was lower in children with a family history of asthma. Even after accounting for height, weight, age, sex and race, children's lung function correlated significantly with parents' lung function. However, the contribution of familial factors (i.e., parents' lung function, smoking, and history of asthma) to children's lung function is small compared to the effects of height, weight and age.

The prevalence of byssinosis was measured in a population of 189 male and 780 female workers employed in three coarse and two fine cotton mills. Ninety-eight per cent. of the male and 96% of the female population were seen.The workers were graded by their histories as follows: Grade 0-No symptoms of chest tightness or breathlessness on MondaysGrade I-Occasional chest tightness on Mondays, or mild symptoms such as irritation of the respiratory tract on Mondays Grade 1-Chest tightness and/or breathlessness on Mondays only Grade 2-Chest tightness and/or breathlessness on Mondays and other days The dust concentrations to which the workers were exposed were measured with a dust-sampling instrument based on the hexhlet. Altogether 505 working places were sampled. In the card-rooms of the coarse mills 63 % of the men and 48 % of the women had symptoms of byssinosis. In the card-rooms of the fine mills the corresponding prevalences were 7 % for the men, and 6% for the women. Prevalences were low in the spinning-rooms in the coarse mills. The mean dust concentrations in the different rooms ranged from 90 mg./100 m.3 in one section of the card-room in a fine mill, to 440 mg./100 m.3 in one of the card-rooms of the coarse spinning mills. The prevalence of byssinosis in the different rooms was closely related to the overall dustiness (r = 0-93). For the three main constituents of the dust, namely, cellulose, protein, and ash, the prevalence of byssinosis correlated most highly with protein, particularly with the protein in the medium-sized dust particles, i.e., approximately 7 microns to 2 mm.

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A cohort of both active and retired older cotton textile workers was examined prospectively over a 6-year period to establish the nature and extent of chronic lung disease. Respiratory symptoms and lung function were studied in these workers and in a group of similarly aged controls. The cotton textile workers had higher prevalence and attack rates of respiratory symptoms than did controls even with smoking habits taken into account. Chronic bronchitis developed in 16% of all cotton textile workers compared to 1% of controls over the follow-up period (p less than 0.001). The cotton workers suffered a larger loss of lung function over 6 years than did controls. Male workers lost 42 mL/yr of forced expiratory volume in 1 second, although male controls lost only 25 mL/yr (p = 0.001). Similar differences were seen in women, and in both men and women who were nonsmokers. Retired cotton textile workers had more symptoms and disability than active workers. We conclude that chronic lung disease is not only irreversible but may progress even after exposure to cotton dust has ended.