Respiratory disease among Nigerians working in a sugar industry

Three hundred and thirty five Nigerians working in a sugar industry were studied using a questionnaire for respiratory symptoms, physical examination of the chest and chest x-ray examination in a selected group. The frequency of occurrence of cough alone, cough with sputum, morning phlegm, nasal catarrh and chest pain were found to be statistically significant only in the control group (p < 0.05), contrary to expectation. Chest signs were absent in all except two workers who had bilateral basal crackles and the other had features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease respectively. Only one chest x-ray showing features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was abnormal out of 29 that were done among the workers for various indications. Specific respiratory diagnoses were made only in two workers, namely, bronchial asthma in one and chronic obstructive lung disease in another. These disorders were not directly occupationally related. The rarity of specific respiratory disease among Africans working in a sugar industry, despite their exposure to dust, calls for further studies to ascertain if they have any special protective mechanism(s).