Longitudinal change in professional divers' lung function: literature review.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Pulmonary Medicine
• Diving Science

Background:

• Professional diving poses potential risks to respiratory health.
• Understanding long-term lung function changes in divers is crucial for occupational safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and assess changes in lung function among professional divers.
• To identify specific pulmonary function parameters affected by prolonged diving activities.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a literature review of published studies on professional divers.
• Searched Medline, Embase, and 'Medicina Maritima' for articles published between 1984 and 2014.
• Extracted data on pulmonary function tests from selected studies.

Main Results:

• A significant decrease in forced vital capacity (FVC) was observed in four studies.
• Reduced forced expiratory flows (FEF75%, FEF50%) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) were noted after 3 years of diving.
• A decrease in transfer factor for carbon monoxide (TLCO) was evident after 5 years, with limited age-standardization in studies.

Conclusions:

• The literature review indicates a decline in TLCO, FEF75%, and FEF25-75% in professional divers.
• Further long-term research is needed to differentiate the effects of aging versus diving on lung function.
• Findings may inform future research and safety guidelines for divers.