Pulmonary complications in workers of Bafnaz textile factory in Isfahan

The present study was conducted to examine adverse pulmonary effects of exposure to cotton dust in Isfahan All employed workers of Bafnaz textile factory were studied by medical interview, physical examinations, and spirometry in symptomatic subjects. Frequency tables were used to extract major symptoms and pulmonary illnesses. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate relationships between illnesses and possible risk factors. All workers had some potential exposure to cotton dust; mean employment duration was 18.20 +/- 5.34 years. Prevalence of chronic cough, chronic bronchitis, asthma, and byssinosis was 2.4%, 30.8%, 9.2%, and 3.9% respectively. Odds ratios [OD]and 95% confidence interval [CI]for prevalence of chronic bronchitis and byssinosis in those working in most dusty jobs, after adjustment for age, smoking habit and duration of employment were; 1.77 [1.10-3.04], and 1.41 [1.33-2.63] respectively. In these textile workers, chronic respiratory symptoms and disorders were associated with job category after correction for age and smoking habits. These data support the evidence for an increased prevalence of respiratory disease in populations exposed to cotton dust

Exercise - induced bronchospasm in soccer players

Exercise is one of the most prevalent predisposing factors of bronchospasm. Its symptoms may be merely due to physical activities. Clear understanding of exercise-induced bronchospasm is essential to eliminate complications and achieve more effective treatment. The study population consisted of Tehran soccer-players. In this clinical trial, four soccer clubs were selected by cluster random sampling. The means of data collecting included history taking, physical examination, and the performance of spirometry tests at rests as well as 5 and 12 minutes after exercise. One hundred soccer players were enrolled in this study with the mean age [ +/- SD] of 20 +/- 4.26 years old. The mean values of FEV1 +/- SD measured at 5 minutes before as well as 5 and 12 minutes after a ten-minute continuos exercise were 4.15 +/- 0.44, 4.13 +/- 0.5, and 4.12 +/- 0.49 liter respectively. These differences seem to be age related.12 minutes after exercise, 6 players have shown reduced FEV1 [15-17%] in respect of resting value [4.78 +/- 0.52 vs. 3.57 +/- 0.33]. The prevalence of exercise-induced bronchospasm was 6% in our study, comparable to 3-11% reported of others. The lower prevalence of exercise- induced bronchospasm in our study may be due to older study group, negative history of allergy and pulmonary diseases in our cases