Natural History and Risk Factors of Early Respiratory Responses to Exposure to Cotton Dust in Newly Exposed Workers

Abstract

This study of workers naive to cotton dust exposure has demonstrated that respiratory symptoms and acute airway responses develop early following first exposure, and a tolerance effect develops in those workers with the continued exposure. Current smoking and increasing exposure predicts the development of work-related lower respiratory tract symptoms, while early symptoms and acute airway changes across the working week predict the longitudinal loss of lung function at 1 year.

Respiratory symptoms and cross-shift lung function in relation to cotton dust and endotoxin exposure in textile workers in Nepal: a cross-sectional study

“…The prevalence of persistent cough and phlegm in this study was very similar to that of other studies,9 11 17 although surprisingly there were no significant differences in the reporting of symptoms between current smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers in our study. This finding contradicts the findings from previous studies which reported all respiratory symptoms except byssinosis to be significantly more frequent in smokers than non-smoking cotton workers 2 20.…”

“…Intriguingly, endotoxin was not associated with any of the respiratory symptoms and, when included in the multivariate model, did not have any independent predictive effect. These findings corroborate the earlier findings from the cross-sectional study in cotton workers in Turkey,9 but contradict those of a German textile mill that reported a fourfold increased risk of cough in individuals exposed to high endotoxin concentrations, compared to those exposed to low levels of endotoxin 23. The range of endotoxin exposure in the Chinese and German studies was 25–7590 EU/m 3 and 9–7177 EU/m 3 , respectively.…”

“…Acute decrements in lung function have been observed in cotton textile workers in periods of early naïve exposure which are often related to concentrations of dust, grade of cotton used and various other microbial agents and their toxins 7. Cross-shift changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) are considered as acute and reversible,1 8 9 while longer term exposure to cotton dust is associated with significant loss of lung function. A longitudinal study conducted on 408 cotton workers and 417 silk workers over 20 years reported that exposure to cotton dust was associated with a 10 mL/year decrement in 5-year annualised FEV 1 decline.…”

Assessment of respiratory status among workers exposed to cotton dust at Arba Minch Textile Factory, Southern Ethiopia, 2017

“…Another studies revealed significantly decreased mean FEV 1 and FVC in cotton workers which are in accordance with result of the present the study (Vyas, 2012;Bakirci et al, 2007). A study in Egypt showed a significant decline in FEF 25-75% in exposed subjects compared to non-exposed subjects (Khalifa et al, 2003).…”

Indoor Air Contaminants and Their Impact on Respiratory Pathologies

“…Chronic exposure can provoke different symptoms, such as fever, headache, throat irritation, cough, wheezing and thoracic oppression. 26 There are several studies that demonstrate that exposure to endotoxins cause a fall in FVC and in FEV 1 ; nonetheless, these were done in work settings, with intense occupational exposure. Contrarily, other studies show that exposure to endotoxins at early ages seems to have a protector effect against the development of atopic diseases by means of a stimulus of the Th-1 response versus Th-2.…”