Ventilatory and Auditory Findings among Workers in Asal’s Furniture Factory at New Damietta City, Damietta Governorate, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Wood furniture production is one of the most hazardous industries. The workers are subjected to several hazards involving exposure to wood dust, solvents, isocyanates, finishes and noise. Objective: To determine ventilatory and auditory findings among workers in Asal's furniture factory at New Damietta City, Damietta Governorate, Egypt. Patients and Methods: A descriptive comparative cross-sectional study was carried out on 183 wood furniture workers in Asal's furniture factory at New Damietta city, Damietta governorate and a matched comparison group, during the period from February 1, 2018 to November 24, 2018. Results: The averages of the measured wood dust concentrations and noise levels were within the Egyptian maximum permissible limits, except for the noise levels in the woodworking building which were higher than the maximum permissible limits [90.8±7.1dB(A)]. As regards the ventilatory lung functions measurements among both woodworkers and finishing group, the means± SD of both measured and percent predicted values of FEV1/FVC, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and FEF 25-75% were lower than those of the comparison group with a statistically significant difference (p≤0.05). Finishing workers had a statistically significant (p≤0.001) higher prevalence of obstructive ventilatory pattern. Sensorineural hearing loss was significantly (p≤0.005) prevalent among both woodworkers (26.2%) and the finishing workers (18%) compared to the comparison group (2.4%). Criteria of NIHL were met in 81.3% of woodworkers with sensorineural hearing loss, who accounted for 21.3% of all woodworkers. Conclusion:The workplace environment in Asal's furniture factory adversely affects the ventilatory and auditory functions of their workers.