A Comparative Study of Pulmonary Function Parameters in Construction Workers and Normal Healthy Volunteers

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Pulmonary Medicine
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Construction workers face numerous hazards, including physical, chemical, biological, and ergonomic risks.
• These occupational exposures can significantly impact respiratory health.
• Assessing pulmonary function in this demographic is crucial for understanding health risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the pulmonary function of construction workers.
• To compare the lung function of construction workers with that of healthy volunteers.
• To identify specific respiratory patterns and spirometry value differences.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study conducted in Solapur, India, from March 2022 to March 2023.
• Involved 25 construction workers and 25 healthy subjects.
• Pulmonary function assessed using Spiro Excel spirometry, with statistical analysis via unpaired t-test and chi-square test.

Main Results:

• Construction workers showed a significantly higher prevalence of normal spirometry patterns (72.0%) compared to healthy subjects (40.0%) (p<0.05).
• Restrictive and mixed spirometry patterns were more common in construction workers (11.0% and 3.0%) than in healthy volunteers (4.0% and 1.0%) (p<0.05).
• Significant differences were observed in most lung function parameters (FVC, FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC%, FEF 25.0-75.0%, PEFR) between the groups, except for MVV.

Conclusions:

• Construction workers are at an elevated risk of respiratory function impairment.
• This impairment manifests as increased respiratory symptoms, a higher incidence of restrictive and mixed lung patterns, and reduced spirometry values.
• The findings underscore the occupational health risks in the construction industry and the need for targeted interventions.