Biomedical subjects

D Pavicic

Publications and source records attributed to D Pavicic.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1997

Respiratory function in vineyard and orchard workers.

A group of 174 male vineyard and orchard workers was studied for the prevalence of acute and chronic respiratory symptoms and lung function changes. In addition, 115 male control workers were studied for the prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms. There was a significantly higher prevalence of dyspnea and chest tightness in exposed compared to control workers. In particular, exposed nonsmokers had significantly higher prevalences of dyspnea and chest tightness than controls this was found for exposed nonsmokers with both short (< or = 10 years) and long (> 10 years) exposure. Smokers exposed for more than 10 years had significantly higher prevalences of chronic cough, chronic phlegm, chronic bronchitis, and chest tightness than smokers with shorter exposures (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05). Workers employed for more than 10 years had higher prevalences of most of the acute (shipt-related) symptoms than those workers with shorter employment; however, the differences were significant only for cough in smokers (p < 0.05). Significantly lower than predicted FVC values were measured in smokers and nonsmokers after both short and long duration of employment. Differences between measured and predicted FEV1, FEF50, and FEF25 were significant for workers employed for more than 10 years. A separate analysis of individual data as a percent of predicted values demonstrated that many workers had FVC (5.2%), FEV1 (6.3%), FEF50 (27.6%), and FEF25 (40.2%) lower than 70% of predicted values. These data suggest that vineyard and orchard workers may develop acute and chronic respiratory symptoms and lung function changes which are, in part, related to environmental factors and to cigarette consumption.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

A follow-up study of respiratory function in workers exposed to acid aerosols in a food-processing industry.

A follow-up investigation was performed on 49 female workers studied 2 years earlier in a vegetable-pickling plant. Acute and chronic respiratory symptoms and ventilatory capacity measurements were recorded during the original and the follow-up studies. Maximal expiratory flow-volume (MEFV) curves were recorded during the Monday morning work shift. The forced vital capacity (FVC), 1-s forced expiratory volume (FEV1), and flow rates at 50% and the last 25% of the FVC (FEF50, FEF25) were measured. There were small increases in the prevalence of chronic symptoms between the two studies for both smokers and nonsmokers, but these did not reach statistical significance. Five workers at the time of the initial study had a diagnosis of occupational asthma; only one of these was still working at the time of follow-up. Workers lost to the follow-up had lower lung function than those seen at follow-up. In workers who were followed, larger than expected mean annual declines were noted for all ventilatory capacity parameters in both smokers (FVC 0.070 1, FEV1 0.070 1; FEF50 0.3551/s, FEF25 0.270 1/s) and nonsmokers (FVC 0.045 1, FEV1 0.045 1, FEF50 0.285 1/s; FEF25 0.130 1/s). The decrease was particularly pronounced for FEF50 and FEF25. The accelerated decline in ventilatory capacity tests noted in the female nonsmokers suggests an independent effect on lung function of work exposure in this environment. Our data confirm that work in the pickling industry, particularly in small, poorly regulated plants, has deleterious effects on respiratory function.

Acetic Acid↗

PubMed1996

Airway function and respiratory symptoms in sanitation workers.

The prevalence of acute and chronic respiratory symptoms and lung-function changes was studied in a group of 81 municipal sanitation workers. In addition, the prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms and lung function was studied in 65 control workers. There were significantly higher prevalences of all chronic respiratory symptoms among the sanitation workers than among the control workers. Sanitation workers (smokers and nonsmokers) 40 years of age or older had higher prevalences of all chronic respiratory symptoms than younger workers. In addition, sanitation workers (both smokers and nonsmokers) employed for 10 years or longer had significantly higher prevalences of chronic respiratory symptoms than control workers. There was also a high prevalence of acute symptoms, which developed among the sanitation workers during work shifts. Of these symptoms, prevalences were highest for dryness of the nose and throat, followed by throat and eye irritation. Lung-function testing demonstrated significantly diminished forced vital capacity (FVC) and 1-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) for the 81 sanitation workers compared with control values. These differences only become significant after 10 or more years of employment in the sanitation industry and were not entirely explained by smoking. These differences were smaller and not statistically significant for maximum flow rates at 50% and the last 25% of the vital capacity. Our data suggest that sanitation worker--particularly those with long periods of work exposure--may develop acute and/or chronic respiratory symptoms accompanied by decreases in lung function (primarily FVC and FEV1).

Adult↗

PubMed1990

HIV seropositivity in a Yugoslav prison population.

An estimated number of HIV infected individuals in Yugoslavia might be about 3000. I.v. drug users are by far the most affected population group. Prevalence of HIV seropositivity among imprisoned drug users in Belgrade approaches 50%. An effective control of unvoluntary homosexual contacts in prisons is not feasible. Having in mind a moral obligation of the society to preserve the health of its confined members, we advocate the right of (voluntary or on request screened) HIV seronegative individuals to chose to share the cell with inmates shown to be HIV seronegative as well.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay↗