Lung function studies in some Nigerian bank workers

Following complaints of cough and tightness in the chest by a group of treasury workers exposed to large quantities of old and dirty currency notes withdrawn from circulation as well as currency for circulation, lung function tests were performed to find the effects of this exposure on the ventilatory function status of the workers. Lung function tests were carried out on 72 treasury workers (62 male and 10 female) aged 35.11 +/- 0.62 years (mean +/- SEM); range: (21 to 58 years), height 1.68 +/- 0.17 m; (1.55 to 1.97 m) and body weight 60.61 +/- 0.65 kg; (48 to 86 kg). The values were compared with a control group of age, height, weight and sex-matched Nigerians from the same area that were not exposed to any known air pollutant. The mean measured lung function values of the female workers were not significantly different from their control values. However, the mean measured values of FVC, FEV1 and PEFR of the males were significantly lower than their control values (p < 0.01; 0.05 and 0.001 respectively) which is indicative of a general restrictive ventilatory defect. We conclude that chronic exposure to large quantities of old and dirty currency notes withdrawn from circulation as well as new ones may impair the lung function of treasury workers.