A study to assess the respiratory impairments among the male beedi workers in unorganized sectors

Abstract

Aims: The dust of tobacco enters the respiratory system of beedi workers through inhalation during beedi-making and causes respiratory impairments. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the pulmonary functional status of male beedi workers and to detect the pulmonary function impairments among these workers. Materials and Methods: A standard questionnaire was followed to note the symptoms like cough, breathlessness, morning cough and chest tightness. The tendu leaves contain fungal spores in different phases of its processing, particularly when they were kept in bundles in moist condition before wrapping the beedi. In the present study, pulmonary function status assessment was done by spirometric method using Spirovit-SP-10 and Wright's peak flow meter. Out of the total subjects studied (n=107), 56 were control subjects and 51 were workers exposed to beedi. Statistical Analysis: Paired t-test was done to determine the significant difference between beedi workers and control subjects. Result: A few workers reported symptoms of cough, breathlessness, morning cough and chest tightness. The respiratory symptoms were found higher in exposed beedi workers compared to control subjects. A trend of decrement of lung volumes with the increment of age and duration of work exposure was observed. The pulmonary function abnormalities found among the male beedi workers were obstructive, restrictive and 'combined restrictive and obstructive' type. Conclusion:The respirtory impairments among the beedi workers might be due to their exposure to the work environment.

Pulmonary Functions among Beedi Industry Workers of South India -“A Cross Sectional Study”

“…Study conducted by B.P Chattopadhyay et al 8 have reported similar observations. X -ray chest confirmed lung parenchymal changes have also been reported among workers exposed to tobacco dust for more than 30years 12 .…”

“…Tobacco dust contains various immunologically active and toxic substances. It has been established that occupational chronic exposure to the dust of tobacco leaves is associated with significant increase in the occurrence of respiratory disorders 8,10,11 .…”

“…The lack of evidence in this study could be because of less number (n= 20) of smokers in this study population. Smoking is an additional risk factor among male beedi workers which makes them more susceptible to respiratory ailments 8 .…”

“…Studies from India as well as from other countries have shown increased occurrence of respiratory disorders such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and occupational asthma and several other ailments such as skin diseases, gastrointestinal illness, gynaecological problems, lumbosacral pain in tobacco workers [3][4][5][6][7] . Few studies have shown both restrictive and obstructive patterns among beedi industry workers 8 .…”

Clinical, Cytogenetic and CYP1A1 exon-1 Gene Mutation Analysis of Beedi Workers in Vellore Region, Tamil Nadu

“…Tobacco dust generated during beedi making was reported to act as an initiator or promoter of skin tumors in S/RV Cri-ba mice (Bagwe et al, 2004). A low prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms was found in control workers and the prevalence of cough with breathlessness, morning cough were higher among workers exposed to tobacco dust than the control (Chattopadhyay and Kundu, 2006).…”