Comparison of pulmonary function tests in workers of different working units at Marble factories in Peshawar

Abstract

Background Occupational lung diseases are some of the more important yet underdiagnosed pulmonary diseases. The more important reason for this is the lack of knowledge in the general public as well as general practitioners. Marble factories are a very common source of occupational dust exposure, leading to derangements in lung functions and lung disorders. Pulmonary function tests are an important step in the evaluation of lung functions for the sake of diagnosing various lung disorders. Objective: To determine the relationship between marble factory workers and lung derangements with respect to their place of work Methodology: This study was conducted in marble factories located on Warsak Road, Hayatabad, and suburbs of Peshawar. 2-step randomization was used to initially select factories and then workers in each factory. A total of 45 factories were selected, followed by the selection of 357 workers, 8 in each factory and 4 from each of the 2 units (polishing and grinding units). Spirometry was then performed on these workers, and the obtained data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results All the participants were male, with a mean age of 33. The workers were divided into 2 groups according to their workplace: the grinding unit and the polishing unit, 183 workers were from the grinding unit, while 174 workers were from the polishing unit. Out of the 183 workers from the grinding unit, 137 had normal spirometric findings, and 46 workers had abnormal findings on spirometry. In the polishing unit, out of 174 workers, 151 had normal spirometric findings, and 23  had abnormal spirometric findings. An ANOVA test was applied. Workers in the grinding unit show more deranged pulmonary functions as compared to workers in the polishing unit. Conclusion: Workers in the grinding unit were at greater risk of developing deranged pulmonary functions as compared to workers in the polishing unit.