Biomedical subjects

S K Rastogi

Publications and source records attributed to S K Rastogi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

A survey of chronic bronchitis among brassware workers.

A stratified random sample of 580 workers aged between 18 and 50 years representing each sub-occupation in the brassware industry was studied for the prevalence of chronic bronchitis in relation to occupational and environmental factors. The findings were compared with those obtained in a reference group (N = 131) belonging to similar socio-economic status and unexposed to a dusty environment. Although the exposed group showed higher prevalence of chronic bronchitis in comparison to that observed in the controls (10.5 vs 5.3%), the difference was not significant at the 5% level. It was observed that the workers engaged in non-dusty occupations such as brass sheet cutting and engraving showed the lowest prevalence of the disease (5.0%) while those engaged in the dusty occupations viz., casting, soldering, electroplating and polishing showed the highest prevalence (12.0%). The smoking adjusted odds ratios calculated in various sub-occupations showed the highest risk of developing chronic bronchitis among the polishers (2.74). Though the risk in other occupational sub-groups was double, it did not attain a level of significance. The smoking adjusted odds ratios in relation to length of exposure showed that the risk was significantly higher among the workers exposed for over 10 years compared to those who worked for less than 10 years in the grinding, soldering and brass ingot making operations. The study thus showed a dose-response relationship between length of exposure and chronic bronchitis while effect of age on the disease was not discernible probably due to the small number of cases and the young age of the study group. The concentration of various metals in the air samples drawn from the work environment where main processes were in operation, was low compared to the prescribed level by ACGIH.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Wet-bulb globe temperature index: a predictor of physiological strain in hot environments.

The readings of the natural wet-bulb (tnwb) and globe thermometer for computing Twbg index (indoors) were taken between 08.00 to 17.00 h at two-hour intervals in different work locations in the glass bangle and brassware industries. For assessing the physiological reliability of the Twbg index for heat stress, the radial pulse rate was monitored at two-hour intervals in 60 brassware workers and 77 glass bangle workers (mean ages: 25.3 +/- 8.8 and 28.1 +/- 5.7 years) belonging to various occupations exposed to thermal radiation for 9.3 +/- 8.5 and 11.2 +/- 4.8 years respectively. The mean values of Twbg index observed in the brassware and glass bangle industries were found to be almost of the same order (34.4 +/- 3.0 degrees C and 35.2 +/- 1.1 degrees C). The radiant heat seemed to make the most significant contribution to the environmental heat stress in these industries. The globe temperature near the main melting furnace was as high as 53.8 +/- 3.0 degrees C and 59.2 +/- 4.02 0C in the glass bangle and brassware industries respectively. It was, therefore, expected that the exposed workers would show pronounced physiological strain. Surprisingly the pulse rates of these workers did not indicate any significant physiological strain since the maximal pulse rates recorded did not exceed the safe limits of circulatory strain recommended by the WHO.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Respiratory symptoms and ventilatory capacity in metal polishers.

To evaluate the long-term effects of metal dusts on the bronchopulmonary system and the synergistic effect of cigarette smoke, a comparative study of spirometric measurements in 104 polishers and 90 unexposed controls was carried out in 25 brass and steelware polishing industries at Moradabad in northern India. The two groups were comparable in terms of age, height, smoking habit and socio-economic status. A total of 58.6% of the polishers had one or more respiratory symptoms, compared to only 25.5% of the controls (P < 0.05). Chronic cough was present in 21 polishers (20.2%) as compared to 11.1% of the controls. However, this difference was insignificant. Chronic phlegm was nearly three times as frequent among the polishers as among the controls (17.5% vs 4.4%) (P < 0.005). The prevalence of dyspnoea of varying grades was also significantly higher (16.3% as opposed to 4.4%) among the exposed groups. Chronic bronchitis (6.7%) and occupational asthma (4.8%) were found to be confined to polishers. The polishers also experienced acute respiratory symptoms during the work shift. The prevalence of acute respiratory symptoms was recorded for cough in 19 workers (44.1%) followed by dyspnoea in 14 workers (32.5%) and throat irritation in 11 workers (25.5%). Comparison of the mean values of pulmonary function parameters in the polishers and the controls showed significant differences in the smoking and non-smoking groups (P < 0.001). The polishers exhibited significantly greater acute reductions in various lung functions over the work shift, particularly for forced expiratory flow over the 25-75% portion of the spirogram (FEF25-75%) FEF25% and FEF50%, than did the controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Changes in pulmonary diffusing capacity and blood gases in chronic obstructive lung diseases.

Pulmonary diffusing capacity (TLco) of 19 cases of chronic obstructive lung diseases (Chronic obstructive bronchitis and chronic obstructive emphysema) in the age group of 39 to 58 years (mean age: 49.8 +/- 5.5 SD years) are reported at rest in this investigation. The diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (TLco) measured by standard methods was significantly reduced in all cases. The mean was 13.1 +/- 2.3 SD ml/min/mmHg. The blood gas findings revealed low arterial oxygen saturation (mean value: 90.2 +/- 2.2%). Arterial carbon dioxide tension was higher than in normal subjects. The mean for this series was 44.8 +/- 4.9 SD mmHg. The mean for normal subjects was 37.5 mmHg and the range 28.2 to 41.5.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Occupational morbidity among children employed in brassware industry.

Fifty seven male children between ages of 10-16 years engaged in the brassware industry at Moradabad in Northern India were studied for occupational morbidity. The finding were compared with those obtained in the children (n = 29) engaged in other ancillary units which did not involve exposure to the metal fumes and dust in their work environment. The study showed a high prevalence of respiratory morbidity in the children engaged in the main units in comparison to those employed in the ancillary units (40.3 vs 27.6%; p less than 0.05). This was associated with significantly higher prevalence of pulmonary impairment in the former group (21.0%) particularly demonstrating restrictive ventilatory abnormality (10.5%) followed by bronchial obstruction (7.0%). The high respiratory morbidity may be attributed to chronic exposure to the fumes and dust of the metals such as nickel, chromium and cadmium. The children employed in the ancillary as well as in the main units showed high prevalences of musculo-skeletal disorders (27.6 and 22.8%) which may be caused by sustained faulty posture adopted during work and physical stress.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Blood chromium and nickel in relation to respiratory symptoms among industrial workers.

Seventy-eight workers exposed to fumes and dust of nickel and chromium in their occupation in the glass industry were studied for respiratory symptoms in relation to nickel and chromium concentrations in their blood. A significant (p less than 0.01) association was observed between respiratory symptoms and elevated blood nickel and chromium. An interaction between nickel and chromium was found in relation to the prevalence of respiratory symptoms.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

A cross-sectional study of pulmonary function among workers exposed to multimetals in the glass bangle industry.

Spirometric lung functions were evaluated in 220 asymptomatic glass bangle workers exposed to the salts of various heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, zinc, copper, manganese, cobalt, cadmium, and selenium, which are used as coloring agents in the manufacture of glass bangles. The mean values of various spirometric variables (viz. FVC, FEV1, IMBC, and PEFR) were within normal range (more than 80% of the predicted values) in both smoking and nonsmoking glass bangle workers and did not reveal any significant differences in comparison with those observed in the unexposed controls. However, variables such as FEV1/FVC% ratio, FEF25-75 and FEF75-85 were reduced significantly (p less than 0.001) in the exposed group. The reduction was more marked in the smoking glass bangle workers indicating additive effect of cigarette smoking on the small airways. The exposed group showed a significantly higher prevalence (16.3%) of respiratory impairment in comparison to that observed in the controls (7.9%) as a result of exposure to various metals in the work environment (p less than 0.01). The respiratory impairment observed in the exposed group indicated primarily restrictive pattern of pulmonary abnormality (10.4%), while the controls revealed only 1.1% prevalence of this disease (p less than 0.001). The effect of the duration of exposure on the prevalence of respiratory impairment in the glass bangle industry revealed significantly higher prevalence (p less than 0.05) in those who worked for more than 10 years (23.0%) than in those who worked for less than 10 years (10.8%) thereby indicating that the duration of exposure is directly related to the prevalence of respiratory impairment.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

A study of the prevalence of respiratory morbidity among agate workers.

A random sample of 342 workers engaged in chipping and grinding of agate stones were surveyed in a cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of respiratory morbidity in the agate industry. The findings were compared with those obtained in controls. The study showed a significantly higher prevalence of lung diseases among agate workers than among controls (63.4% vs 35.5%, P less than 0.001). The respiratory morbidity in agate workers and controls was maximal in the group aged 31+ years (83.3% and 42.2%, respectively). The prevalence of pneumoconiosis in agate workers (18.4%) was highly significant as compared with controls, in whom not a single case was found (P less than 0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the prevalence of pneumoconiosis in men and women of the exposed group (17.9% vs 19.6%). Among the cases of pulmonary diseases in agate workers, pneumoconiosis formed the largest group (18.4%), whereas among controls it was tuberculosis (12.1%). The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis was very high in both agate workers and controls (15.5% and 12.1%, respectively), probably because of poor socio-economic and unhygienic living conditions. The prevalence of chronic bronchitis was found to be higher among the control population as compared with the exposed group (6.7% vs 2.6%). It therefore appeared that agate dust had no role in precipitating chronic bronchitis. However, bronchial asthma appeared to have been aggravated due to agate dust, as the risk among agate workers was 7-fold that found among the controls. The prevalence of pneumoconiosis showed a dose-response relationship in both male and female agate workers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Spirometric abnormalities among welders.

A group of manual welders (N = 57) engaged in gas welding joint faces of moulded brasswares, age group 13-60 years (mean: 29.2 +/- 1.37 years), having a mean exposure period of 12.4 +/- 1.12 years (range: 1-35 years) were subjected to spirometry to evaluate the prevalence of spirometric abnormalities. The findings were compared with those obtained from a reference group (N = 131) (mean age: 31.2 +/- 1.35 years) engaged in nonwelding jobs such as packing, labelling, and transportation of the finished brassware articles. The welders showed a significantly higher prevalence of respiratory impairment (28.0%) than that observed among the unexposed controls (6.1%) (P less than 0.001), as a result of exposure to welding gases which comprised fine particles of lead, zinc, chromium, and manganese. This occurred despite the lower concentration of the pollutants at the work place. In the exposed group, the smoking welders showed a prevalence of respiratory impairment significantly higher than that observed in the nonsmoking welders (40.0 vs 18.7%) (P less than 0.10). A similar trend was observed in the control group indicating that smoking had a deteriorating effect on spirometric tests. The results of the pulmonary function tests showed a predominantly restrictive type of pulmonary impairment (12.3%) followed by a mixed ventilatory defect (8.7%) among the welders. The effect of age on pulmonary impairment was not discernible either in the exposed or unexposed group. The analysis of data in relation to duration of exposure showed significant correlation between the prevalence of respiratory abnormalities and length of exposure. Welders exposed for over 10 years showed a prevalence of respiratory abnormalities significantly higher than those exposed for less than 10 years (44.4 vs 13.3%) (P less than 0.01) thereby showing that occupational exposure to welding fumes resulted in increased prevalence of pulmonary impairment in the welders. Smoking also had a contributory role thereby suggesting an interaction between smoking and welding exposure on the prevalence of pulmonary impairment in the welders engaged in brassware industries.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

A study of respiratory morbidity and pulmonary function among solderers in the electronics industry.

Pulmonary function assessment of 197 solderers engaged in soldering printed circuit boards and other electronic components using lead-tin alloy impregnated solder in five major electronics workplaces in India was compared with the findings observed in 143 unexposed controls. Spirometry showed a significant impairment in the values of vital capacity (VC) and forced expiratory volume/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) percent ratio in 47.2% of the solderers in comparison to 1.3% in the reference group (p less than 0.001). In the exposed group, female solderers particularly showed significantly higher (55.0%) prevalence of overall respiratory impairment in comparison to the 32.3% observed in their male counterparts (p less than 0.001). Bronchial obstruction was recorded in 7.6% of the solderers compared with 1.3% of the unexposed controls (p less than 0.01). The prevalence of restrictive and mixed ventilatory impairment was found to be 28.9 and 10.6%, respectively, among the exposed workers, while there was none among the control group. The solderers showed a predominantly restrictive pattern of pulmonary impairment that was mild in nature. Smoking caused no significant effect on the pulmonary impairment among the exposed workers. The study also did not show any significant differences in the prevalence of respiratory impairment between solderers exposed either less or more than 10 yr, thereby suggesting that there was no link between the respiratory impairment and duration of exposure. The industrial hygiene study conducted in the assembly section where soldering was done showed the mean concentration of lead to be 0.40 micrograms/m3 (range 0.12-0.43 micrograms/m3).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Long-term effects of soldering fumes upon respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function.

To evaluate the long-term effect of soldering gases and fumes, and of cigarette smoke on lung function, and the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, a comparative study of spirometric measurements in 57 solderers engaged in acetylene gas soldering of brassware joints in the brass industry (mean exposure: 12.4 +/- 1.1 years) and in 131 controls was performed. The two groups were similar in age, height, smoking habits and social class. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms in the solderers did not differ significantly from that in the unexposed controls (59.6 vs 56.4%). However, solderers who smoked showed higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms than those who did not smoke; a similar trend was observed in the controls. The study failed to demonstrate any association between the respiratory symptoms and length of exposure. The respiratory status of the solderers was unaffected as the results of spirometric measurements of lung function did not show any significant differences between the exposed and the control groups, indicating the absence of an additive effect of cigarette smoking and exposure to soldering fumes.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

PubMed1991

Psychological responses to thermal stress in a glass bangle factory.

Behavioural studies were conducted on a random sample of 38 glass bangle workers engaged in various occupations and exposed to high ambient temperature (38.2 +/- 3.4 degrees C) and radiant heat (46.2 +/- 5.1 degrees C) during their work in the glass bangle industries at Firozabad, India. Twenty-two control subjects of similar age and socio-economic status unexposed to heat during their work were also studied for comparison. The digit span test, digit symbol test, Bourdon-Wiersma vigilance test, flicker fusion test and Maudsley personality inventory (MPI) were used to assess the behavioural changes induced by the existing heat stress. The mean scores of immediate memory were much lower in the exposed population than in the controls thereby indicating impairment of immediate memory in the study group. The visuo-motor coordination and vigilance were also significantly affected. Visual perception showed a downward trend among the glass bangle workers, although the MPI test indicated no personality changes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Ventilatory dysfunction in glass bangle workers.

The pulmonary function status of 73 glass bangle workers suffering from chronic bronchitis having varied exposures to pulmonary toxicants in the work environment was evaluated in 1984. The findings were compared with those observed in 220 asymptomatic glass bangle workers and 88 unexposed controls. There was a higher prevalence (45.2%) of ventilatory dysfunction in the chronic bronchitic cases as compared to 19% in the asymptomatic workers and 2.3% in controls, respectively. The relative risk of airway obstruction was 8.3 and 19.6 times higher in the asymptomatic and chronic bronchitic workers respectively as compared to the controls (p less than 0.001). The prevalence of obstructive impairment among the smokers and non-smokers in the exposed workers was not statistically significant. However, age greater than 30 was found to be significantly associated with bronchial obstruction in chronic bronchitic cases. The relative risk of duration of exposure was found to be 1.86 in the asymptomatic workers exposed for more than 10 years (p less than 0.05) while it was 1.62 in workers with chronic bronchitis. The occupational and environmental factors responsible for the high prevalence of chronic bronchitis and associated ventilatory dysfunction in relatively young glass bangle workers are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Cardiac stress in glass bangle workers.

The cardiac cost of work and recovery pulse rates were evaluated in 38 glass bangle workers (mean age 27.8 years, SD 3.4) exposed to radiant heat (46.2 degrees C, SD 5.1) and high ambient temperature (38.2 degrees C, SD 3.4) for a mean period of 11.0 years, SD 3.5 in the glass bangle industry. A reference group of 15 controls (mean age 27.0 years, SD 3.5 unexposed to occupational heat stress served as a comparison. The results showed that the pulse rate increased from a mean basal value of 80.0 beats.min-1, SD 2.7 to 113.2 beats.min-1, SD 11.4 in the exposed workers while in the controls the increase was negligible. Thus the cardiac cost of work was found to be 33.2 beats.min-1, SD 11.1 in the exposed group which was significantly higher (P less than 0.001) than 7.8 beats.min-1, SD 4.2 observed in the control group. Among the exposed workers, 'belanias', who were engaged in the strenuous job of manually rotating the iron roller in the Belan furnace so that the molten glass could be wound in a spiral form, showed the maximum increase in the pulse rate (42.0 beats.min-1, SD 7.5) over the work-shift followed by 'muthias' (31.1 beats.min-1, SD 4.0) who were engaged in removing the glass spirals from the Belan furnace. However, wireman ('tarkashs'), who were engaged in the highly skilled job of making very fine threads of molten glass with the help of an iron roller, showed the smallest increase (19.5 beats.min-1, SD 3.4) in pulse rate over the work-shift.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1990

A global comparison of predicting equations on spirometry in the male population.

A multiple regression model considering dependent variables like vital capacity (VC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and age and height as independent variables for the adult male population, which includes whites of European descent and non-whites was reviewed to evaluate the role of lung function status following standardization of age and height. Non-whites showed 0.19 litre decline in VC per decade of life as compared to 0.24 litres observed in the whites of European descent. Mean VC increased 0.05 litres per centimetre in non-whites and whites. The variation in the constant term in the regression equation determined the difference between the racial groups. Like VC, FEV1 showed ethnic differences similar to those of VC. However, the magnitude of the variation in the predicted values of FEV1 was found to be less than that observed in VC. When related to VC, FEV1 showed little difference between most European populations, New Guyanaese, Indians, Negroes, Africans and Chinese because FEV1/FVC ratio had a very narrow range between 77 and 80%.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Pulmonary function study in female grinders exposed to agate dust.

This paper reports a cross-sectional study of a non-smoking population of silica exposed female workers compared with a group of healthy non-exposed females. The exposed group is divided into cohorts according to the presence or absence of pneumoconiosis in either simple or complex form. The study revealed statistically significant difference in pulmonary function between each of the pneumoconiosis group and the controls and healthy exposed workers. Furthermore, there was statistically significant difference between the values of pulmonary function parameters of the healthy exposed group and the controls. The most important observation of the study is that almost equal decrement of pulmonary function values was observed in the diseased groups and in the healthy exposed group compared to the decrement seen between the latter group and the control group. VC and FVC showed a mean fall of 11.0 and 11.5% in the healthy exposed group as compared to those observed in the unexposed controls (p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.05) while in the pneumoconiosis group VC and FVC showed 16.9 and 18.2% decrease as compared with the values obtained in the healthy grinders (p less than 0.01). Similarly FEV1 showed almost same decrease in the healthy (17.9%) and diseased (20.7%) exposed groups (p less than 0.001). However, FEV0.75 and MVV parameters showed greater decrement (25.4 and 33.7%) in the pneumoconiosis group as compared to 15.7 and 18.5% observed in the healthy exposed workers. The important observation made in this study is that potential pulmonary debilitation may occur in pneumoconiosis before, or in the absence of, any radiologic findings.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Study of respiratory impairment among pesticide sprayers in Mango plantations.

Pulmonary function studies were conducted on 489 pesticide workers engaged in spraying operations on mango plantations. These workers were exposed to a variety of organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides. A reference group consisting of 208 controls, belonging to the same socioeconomic stratum, was taken from the same area for purposes of comparison. The results of the study showed 36.5 and 41.5% prevalence of respiratory impairment in the exposed workers and in the controls, respectively. The most common pulmonary impairment among the exposed subjects (18.8%) and controls (16.9%) was of the restrictive type, followed by mixed ventilatory defect. Bronchial obstruction affected 2.5 and 3.7% of the exposed and control populations, respectively. In a comparison of the prevalence of total respiratory impairment in the pesticide workers and the controls, the nonsmokers did not show any significant difference in this study. The prevalence rate of respiratory impairment showed an increasing trend in different exposure groups (p less than 0.05), thereby clearly indicating a dose effect. The study revealed that occupational exposure to pesticides had a direct bearing on the respiratory impairment identified in the exposed workers.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Cardio-respiratory studies on glass bangle workers.

Cardio-respiratory functions were recorded in 18 glass bangle workers (Belanias) who worked near the belan furnace continuously for 2 h. The workers were exposed to high ambient temperature (tDB 38.2 degrees C +/- 3.4 degrees C) and thermal radiation (tG 46.2 degrees C +/- 5.1 degrees C) during their work. The physiological responses recorded after the work spell at 1 (R1) 3 (R3) and 5 (R5) minute intervals exhibited incomplete recovery. The oral temperature remained significantly high (0.74 degrees F +/- 0.27 degrees F) even at R5 and never reached pre-work value. Similarly the heart rate values remained very high (26.4 +/- 5.4 beats/min) at R1, (10.7 +/- 3.9 beats/min) at R3 and (4.01 +/- 2.4 beats/min) at R5 periods during recovery, thereby showing that heart rate did not regain the pre-work status. The incomplete recovery in heart rate revealed cardiac stress in the exposed workers. Besides the cardiac stress, the cardiac cost of the work under the prevailing hot conditions in the glass bangle industry was very high, adding further to circulatory strain in these workers. Almost all the exposed workers were found to have hyperventilation syndrome characterized by increased respiratory frequency and tidal volume resulting in ventilatory stress induced by physical and physiological heat.

Anthropometry↗