The effects of agricultural dusts on human health in Shanghai area.
Authors
Shen E; Ye T; Dai Q; Zhou M; Lu L
Source
Proceedings of the VIIth International Pneumoconioses Conference, August 23-26, 1988, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 90-108, 1990 Nov; (Part II):877-878
Epidemiological studies of the health effects of occupational exposure to agricultural dusts were conducted in the Shanghai area of China. The cohort consisted of 349 rice processors, 259 tea workers, 746 rice farmers, and 497 mushroom farmers. Total dust concentrations ranged from 2.3 to 36.4mg/m3 in the tea mills and 13.2 to 76.9mg/m3 in the rice processing mills. Mushroom compost contained 1.07x10(4) to 4.39x10(5) Thermoactinomycetes colony forming units (CFUs) per gram. Air Thermoactinomycetes concentrations in the mushroom cultivation areas ranged from 262 to 3276CFU per cubic meter. The prevalence of mucous membrane symptoms ranged from 0.8% in mushroom farmers to 63.4% in the tea workers. The prevalence of grain fever in rice processors and rice farmers was 17.5 and 5.1%, respectively. The difference was statistically significant. The prevalence of farmer's lung in rice farmers was 3.5%. The prevalence of mushroom workers' lung in mushroom farmers was 5.8%. The prevalence of chronic bronchitis was highest in male and female rice processors, 17.7 and 9.9%, respectively. One second forced expiratory volume (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and mid expiratory flow (FEF25/75) decreased significantly over a shift in female tea workers. FEV1, FVC, and FEF25/75 decreased significantly over the cultivation season in mushroom farmers. Serum immunoglobulin-E concentrations were significantly elevated in tea workers. Precipitating antibodies against Thermoactinomycetes- vulgaris and T-candidus were detected in the mushroom workers. The authors conclude that exposure to agricultural dusts is a significant health problem for agricultural workers in the Shanghai area.
Keywords
Organic dusts; Occupational exposure; Epidemiology; Agricultural workers; Respiratory system disorders; Microorganisms; Respiratory hypersensitivity; Immune reaction; Industrial hygiene; Pulmonary function tests
Publication Date
19901101
Document Type
Conference/Symposia Proceedings
Fiscal Year
1991
Identifying No.
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 90-108
Source Name
Proceedings of the VIIth International Pneumoconioses Conference, August 23-26, 1988, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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.