Respiratory changes were examined clinically in two groups of flax workers with different exposure patterns. A high mean total concentration of flax particles (16.9 mg/cubic meter), of which about 20 percent were of respirable size, caused a high prevalence of byssinosis (69.9 percent) in 55 nonsmoking female workers exposed to biologically retted flax over an average period of 11 years. A significant mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV) decrease over the first work shift after the weekend break was found in both byssinotics and nonbyssinotics but was more pronounced in the former. The mean acute FEV reductions over a work shift were smaller on the third than on the first day in the week. Significant decreases in FEV and in maximum expiratory flow rate at 50 percent of vital capacity over the Monday work shift were recorded in 17 seasonal male workers who had been exposed to flax for only two to three months each year for no more than three years. A high prevalence of chronic cough, chronic sputum production, and chronic bronchitis was found in the female flax workers, especially among the byssinotics.
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.
For more information on CDC's web notification policies, see Website Disclaimers.
CDC.gov Privacy Settings
We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.
Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.
Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.
Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.