Lung function over six years among professional divers

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Occupational Health
• Diving Physiology

Background:

• Professional diving involves significant physiological stress.
• Longitudinal studies are needed to understand the long-term effects of diving on respiratory health.
• Pulmonary function monitoring is crucial for assessing occupational risks in divers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate longitudinal changes in pulmonary function among professional divers.
• To determine the relationship between cumulative diving exposure and lung function decline.
• To compare lung function changes in divers with a non-diving control group.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 87 male professional divers was followed for six years.
• Lung function tests, including dynamic lung volumes and transfer factor for carbon monoxide (Tl(CO)), were performed.
• Linear regression analysis was used to calculate annual rates of change in lung function variables.

Main Results:

• Divers showed significantly higher annual reductions in forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) compared to non-smoking policemen.
• Annual reductions in maximal expiratory flow rates (FEF(25%) and FEF(75%)) correlated with cumulative diving exposure.
• Divers experienced a greater annual decline in Tl(CO) compared to the control group.

Conclusions:

• Professional diving is associated with significant, long-term reductions in key pulmonary function parameters.
• Cumulative diving exposure appears to contribute to the observed decline in lung function.
• These findings highlight the occupational risks of diving on respiratory health.