Assessment of pulmonary functions in seafarers
Journal Title: International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health - Year 2015, Vol 4, Issue 6
Abstract
Background: Aerosol inhalation has been shown to have deleterious effects on the respiratory system. Seafarers those who are working on the upper deck of the ship are continuously exposed to sea salt aerosol. Performing spirometry can detect and quantify respiratory system abnormalities by the use of various parameters of pulmonary function tests. Objective: To assess the effect of chronic exposure and inhalation of sea salt aerosol on pulmonary functions in seafarers. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out in 40 nonsmoking, healthy seafarers aged between 30 and 40 years who were working in the top deck of a ship for more than 10 years. Pulmonary functions such as forced expiratory volume (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, peak expiratory flow (PEF), and maximum midexpiratory flow (FEF 25%–75%) were assessed. Data were analyzed by Student’s t test using SPSS 17.0, and p value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: No significant changes were observed between the control and seafarers in all the parameters studied: FVC ( p = 0.06), FEV1 ( p = 0.39), FEV1/FVC ( p = 0.06), PEF ( p = 0.33), and FEF 25%–75% ( p = 0.14). Conclusion: No significant change was noticed in the pulmonary functions in the seafarers. They seem to be quite normal compared with the control individuals. The reason for this may be because inhalation of the sea salt aerosol containing sodium chloride would have aided in the stabilizing of the alveoli.
Authors and Affiliations
Lord Krishna Govindaraju, Padma Krishna Murthy, Sathya Narayanan Govindarajulu
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP127742
- DOI 10.5455/ijmsph.2015.14092014161
- Views 61
- Downloads 0
Evaluation of effectiveness of intravenous iron sucrose in antenatal patients of iron deficiency anemia
Background: Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the most common nutritional deficiency in pregnancy. Prophylactic oral iron is recommended during pregnancy to meet the increased requirement of iron. In Ind...
Antenatal care utilization in recently delivered rural females: A hospital‑based cross-sectional study
Background: Adequate antenatal care (ANC) services hold the key for the health of both the pregnant mother and her newborn. Utilization of ANC services is of paramount importance for reducing maternal mortality in India...
Cardiovascular disease determinants: burden and knowledge among women in a rural community of Delhi
Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are becoming major health burden in developing countries such as India. Rural women are reported to have high CVD-related mortality rates and are less likely to receive approp...
A cross-sectional study on prevalence, pattern, and perception of self-medication practices among medical students
Background: Self-medication is the use of medical products to treat self-recognized disorders or symptoms, also stated as irregular or continued use of a prescribed drug for chronic or recurrent disease. It is comm...
Sociodemographic profile of people living with HIV/AIDS attending ART center in a tertiary-care hospital in central India
Background: HIV/AIDS epidemic is a major public health problem in India. The epidemiology of HIV/AIDS should be known with regard to sociodemographic variables that will be helpful in the planning of future complex n...