Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in farmers and agricultural workers – an overview
Journal Title: Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine - Year 2011, Vol 18, Issue 2
Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by airflow obstruction that is not fully reversible. It is most often caused by smoking, but other factors including exposure to biological agents can play a significant role in its development. It is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among the adult population worldwide. In Poland, symptoms of chronic impairment of airflow are present in 8.5% of males and 4.9% of females. Livestock farmers have an increased risk of chronic bronchitis, COPD, and reduced forced expiratory volume (FEV1). COPD in farmers working inside confinement buildings is related to organic dust exposure and may become severe. The management of COPD is aimed at improving the patient’s quality of life and functional status. Currently, apart from lung transplantation, there is no treatment that would significantly improve lung function and decrease mortality. This led us to the conclusion that we should study the problem further, and cautiously monitor patients to help efforts aimed at the prevention of respiratory diseases among farmers and agricultural workers.
Authors and Affiliations
Michał Szczyrek, Paweł Krawczyk, Janusz Milanowski, Iwona Jastrzębska, Agnieszka Zwolak, Jadwiga Daniluk
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP80394
- DOI -
- Views 146
- Downloads 0
Aerobiological study in east-central Iberian Peninsula: pollen diversity and dynamics for major taxa.
A study was made of airborne pollen counts in Cuenca (east-central Iberian Peninsula, Spain), using data obtained over a 3-year period (2008-2010). This is the first such study carried out in the World Heritage city of C...
The effect of fish oil supplementation of pigs maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation, and the effect of fish oil addition to formula milk on gene expression and fatty acids composition in small intestine, liver and muscle of offspring
Introduction: The supplementation of preterm infant formulas with n-3 fatty acids is now well accepted, while the benefits of adding n-3 fatty acids to formula milk for term infants remains controversial.Objective: To in...
The occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in people and animals from rural environment of Lublin region - estimate of potential role of water as a source of infection.
A total of 254 humans and 489 domestic animals living on farms in the Lublin province (eastern Poland) were examined for the presence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii using, respectively, the ELFA and direct agglu...
Occupational exposure to carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide on livestock farms in north-west Spain
The influence of the type of farming on harmful gas exposures to carbon dioxide (CO[sub]2[/sub]), ammonia (NH[sub]3[/sub]) and hydrogen sulfide (H[sub]2[/sub]S) was assessed from the perspective of animal welfare and occ...
Case of the PONS study
Poland is one of the most interesting countries in Central and Eastern Europe, where at the beginning of the 90’s major amazing favourable health changes were observed aft er 30 years of increases in cardiovascular morta...