ABSTRACT
Objective To survey the prevalence of greenhouse farmer's lung and related risk factors in part of rural areas of Liaoning Province.Methods Using uniform scheme,procedures and questionnaire,a survey for 5420 farmers(2660 men and 2760 women)with complete data who work inside greenhouses was performed in Shenyang,Xinmin,Chaoyang,and Jinzhou between August 2006 and June 2009.Pulmonary function tests was performed for every active farmer.Results Greenhouse farmer's lung was diagnosed in 308 cases,205 men(66.55%,205/308)and 103 women(33.44%,103/308),a prevalence of 5.7%(308/5420).The prevalence rate of greenhouse farmer's lung in males was significantly higher than that in females(?2=39.93,P0.05).In the 308 cases,the number of patiernts presented with fever chill,cough/sputum,chest tightness/shortness of breath were 180(58.44%),192(62.34%),160(51.95%)respectively,and the number of crepitations,radiological changes,spirometry abnormalities and serum IgE antibodies(+)was 164(53.25%),153(49.68%),147(47.73%)and 136(44.16%)at the time of the study.62.34%(192/308)of patients with greenhouse farmer's lung were mild and 38.66%(116/308)were severe.Conclusion The total prevalence rate of greenhouse farmer's lung in part of rural areas of Liaoning Province was 5.7% and multiple risk factors were associated with the disease.