scholarly journals Respiratory symptoms, asthma, exercise test spirometry, and atopy in schoolchildren from a Lima shanty town

Thorax ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 56 (8) ◽  
pp. 607-612
Author(s):  
M E Penny ◽  
S Murad ◽  
S S Madrid ◽  
T S Herrera ◽  
A Piñeiro ◽  
...  

BACKGROUNDLittle is known about the associations between symptoms of asthma, pulmonary function tests, and atopy in developing countries. While asthma in children is often associated with atopy, some studies of wheezing illness have found little or no association, leading to suggestions that there are subgroups of wheezing illness. The ISAAC study recently reported that the prevalence of reported asthma symptoms in Lima, Peru was among the highest in the world, but did not report on the atopic status of the subjects.METHODSA cross sectional survey was conducted of children aged 8–10 years who had previously participated in a cohort study of respiratory and diarrhoeal illnesses in infancy. Questionnaires were administered asking about respiratory symptoms and asthma diagnoses, pulmonary function tests were performed before and after exercise on a treadmill, and atopy was determined from skin prick tests and specific serum IgE levels.RESULTSA total of 793 children participated in the survey. The prevalence of asthma related symptoms in the last 12 months was 23.2%, but only 3.8% of children reported a recent asthma attack. The mean differences in pretest percentage predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were 8.1% (95% CI 2.4 to 13.8) between children who did and did not report an asthma attack in the last 12 months, and 5.3% (95% CI 2.8 to 7.9) in children who did and did not report respiratory symptoms. The corresponding differences in mean percentage fall in FEV1 after exercise were 3.1% (95% CI –1 to 7.1) and 5.1% (95% CI 3.4 to 6.8). Recent asthma or respiratory symptoms were not associated with atopy in this population (odds ratios 1.29 (95% CI 0.56 to 2.97) and 0.91 (95% CI 0.61 to 1.37), respectively).CONCLUSIONSMost asthma in these children was unrecognised and mild. Asthma and asthma symptoms in this population do not seem to be related to atopy.

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 52-56
Author(s):  
Jayaraj Harsoor ◽  
Vinod H. Ratageri ◽  
C. Shilpa ◽  
Shivanand Illalu ◽  
Prakash Wari

Objectives: The objective of the study was to study the pattern of lung functions in thalassemia major children and correlation of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) with serum ferritin. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study done from January 2017 to December 2017. Inclusion criteria: Children with confirmed diagnosis of beta-thalassemia major in the age group of 5–15 years were included in the study. Exclusion criteria: Already diagnosed cases of pulmonary dysfunctions, CHD and RHD were excluded from the study. All enrolled children underwent a detailed clinical history, physical examination and blood sample were sent for Hb and serum ferritin before blood transfusion (BT). PFT was done within 24 h of BT using spirometer (Helios-401). Statistical analysis was done using SPSS (Version22). Results: Forty-five children enrolled in the study and majority of them were <10 years (37 children) with M:F ratio 1.6:1. The pulmonary dysfunction was present in 35 (77.8%), but none of them had respiratory symptoms. The pulmonary dysfunction observed was restrictive 31 (88.5%), obstructive 2 (5.7%), and combined 2 (5.7%). A reduced forced vital capacity (FVC) % in 33 (73.3%), a reduced forced expiratory volume in the 1st second (FEV1%) in 25 (55.5%), a normal FEV1/FVC in 41 (91.2%), and a reduced FEF 25–75% in 23 (51.1%) children were observed. Risk factors such as, age, height, and duration of chelation (>5 years) were significantly associated with pulmonary dysfunction (P < 0.05). There was no correlation between serum ferritin levels and PFT. However, PFT values were found to be decreased in patients with a high serum ferritin (>2500 ng/ml), but these differences were statistically not significant. Conclusion: Abnormal patterns of lung function were common (restrictive type, predominant), even though none of these children had any respiratory symptoms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-172
Author(s):  
Mohammed Abdulrazzaq Jabbar Jabbar ◽  
Retneswari Masilamani ◽  
Lim Zhi Yik ◽  
Chen Pei Fei ◽  
Loh Xin Ni ◽  
...  

The cooking process may emit toxic compounds and airway irritants from both the fuel combustion and cooking fumes which is harmful to the respiratory health among the restaurant workers. A cross-sectional study of 243 restaurant workers from the selected restaurants in Sungai Long, Malaysia was conducted. The standardized British Medical Research Council questionnaire on Respiratory Symptoms (1986) was used during the interview to access the symptoms and the spirometry test was performed to evaluate the pulmonary functions of the participants. The data of socio-demography and occupational characteristics were also collected. The most complaint respiratory symptoms by the restaurant workers were breathlessness, which accounted for 33.7%, followed by wheezing (14%). The mean values of all pulmonary function tests (PFT) of the restaurant workers were within the normal range (>80%), except for the Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) (79.09%). The results of the bivariate statistical analysis, Chi-square, ANOVA and t-test, showed the determining factors of the respiratory health among the workers were workers’ age and gender in addition to the working duration and the ethnicity. The restaurant workers in Sungai Long were at risk of developing respiratory symptoms and lower pulmonary function values due to prolonged exposure to cooking fumes. Emphasis should be given to the safety and health of restaurant workers and health education should be provided to the restaurant workers and owners. Strategies to increase notification of such occurrences among these workers should be looked into by related agencies in the country.


Rheumatology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (8) ◽  
pp. 2024-2029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukai Wang ◽  
Shaoqi Chen ◽  
Jianqun Lin ◽  
Xuezhen Xie ◽  
Shijian Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Idiopathic inflammatory myositis-associated interstitial lung disease (IIM-ILD) significantly increases morbidity and mortality. Lung ultrasound B-lines and Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) are identified as new sonographic and serum markers of ILD, respectively. The aim of our work was to assess the role of B-lines and KL-6 as markers of the severity of IIM-ILD. For this purpose, the correlation among B-lines score, serum KL-6 levels, high-resolution CT (HRCT) score, and pulmonary function tests were investigated in IIM-ILD patients. Methods Thirty-eight patients with IIM-ILD underwent chest HRCT scans, lung ultrasound and pulmonary function tests (independently performed within 1 week) examination. To assess severity and extent of ILD at HRCT, the Warrick score was used. The B-lines score denoting the extension of ILD was calculated by summing the number of B-lines on a total of 50 scanning sites. Serum KL-6 levels (U/ml) was measured by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay. Results A significant correlation was found between the B-lines score and serum KL-6 levels (r = 0.43, P &lt; 0.01), and between the Warrick score and serum KL-6 levels (r = 0.45, P &lt; 0.01). A positive correlation between B-lines score and the Warrick score (r = 0.87, P &lt; 0.0001) was also confirmed. Both B-lines score and KL-6 levels inversely correlated to diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (r = −0.77, P &lt; 0.0001 and r = −0.42, P &lt; 0.05, respectively) and total lung capacity (r = −0.73, P &lt; 0.0001 and r = −0.36, P &lt; 0.05, respectively). Moreover, B-lines correlated inversely with forced vital capacity (r = −0.73, P &lt; 0.0001), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (r = −0.69, P &lt; 0.0001). Conclusion B-lines score and serum KL-6 levels correlate with HRCT findings and pulmonary function tests, supporting their use as measures of IIM-ILD severity.


1985 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 1485-1488 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Irwin ◽  
M. R. Pratter ◽  
D. H. Stivers ◽  
L. E. Braverman

To evaluate the possible relationship between asthma and hyperthyroidism, airway reactivity and lung function were prospectively compared in healthy volunteers before, during, and after liothyronine (triiodothyronine, T3)-induced hyperthyroidism. Base-line evaluation of the 10 subjects included clinical evaluation, thyroid and pulmonary function tests, and airway reactivity assessed by methacholine inhalational challenge (MIC). All studies were normal. During T3-induced hyperthyroidism, no subject developed respiratory symptoms or changes in pulmonary function or airway reactivity. The mean percent change in forced expiratory volume at 1 s from base line (delta FEV1) of -2.4 +/- 3.0 after MIC was not significantly different from that obtained before T3 administration (-1.4 +/- 1.5, P greater than 0.2). When all serum T3 concentrations and delta FEV1 values before, during and after T3-induced hyperthyroidism were compared, there was no significant correlation. We conclude that T3-induced hyperthyroidism of 3-wk duration has no effect on airway reactivity or lung function in normal volunteers.


2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Kitamura ◽  
N Terunuma ◽  
S Kurosaki ◽  
K Hata ◽  
M Masuda ◽  
...  

Objectives: This study uses pulmonary function tests and chest x-ray examinations to examine the relationship between toner-handling work and its health effects. Methods: The subjects were 1504 male workers in a Japanese toner and photocopier manufacturing company, in the age range from 19 to 50 years in 2003. Personal exposure measurements, pulmonary function tests, chest x-ray examinations, biomarker measurements, and a questionnaire about respiratory symptoms were conducted. The present study reports the results of pulmonary function tests and chest x-ray examinations conducted in the subjects, which includes a cross-sectional study on the toner handling and non-handling workers and a longitudinal study from 2003 to 2008. Results: Few significant findings were suspected to be caused by toner exposure found in pulmonary function indices in both the cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Any obvious fibrotic findings in chest x-ray findings related to the toner exposure could not be found out. Conclusion: No evidence of adverse effects on pulmonary function indices and chest x-rays was present in the toner-handling workers as compared to the nonspecifically exposed workers. Although the toner exposure concentration is quite low in the current well-controlled working environment, even among the toner-handling workers, we would like to continue this study in the future to verify the toner exposure health effects.


2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ritta de Cássia Canedo Oliveira Borges ◽  
José Cerqueira Barros Júnior ◽  
Fabrício Borges Oliveira ◽  
Marisa Andrade Brunherotti ◽  
Paulo Roberto Veiga Quemelo

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify respiratory symptoms and evaluate lung function in mine workers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study involving production sector workers of a pyrochlore mining company. The subjects completed the British Medical Research Council questionnaire, which is designed to evaluate respiratory symptoms, occupational exposure factors, and smoking status. In addition, they underwent pulmonary function tests with a portable spirometer. Results: The study involved 147 workers (all male). The mean age was 41.37 ± 8.71 years, and the mean duration of occupational exposure was 12.26 ± 7.09 years. We found that 33 (22.44%) of the workers had respiratory symptoms and that 26 (17.69%) showed abnormalities in the spirometry results. However, we found that the spirometry results did not correlate significantly with the presence of respiratory symptoms or with the duration of occupational exposure. Conclusions: The frequencies of respiratory symptoms and spirometric changes were low when compared with those reported in other studies involving occupational exposure to dust. No significant associations were observed between respiratory symptoms and spirometry results.


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