Chronic Bronchitis in Foundry Workers in Vojvodina

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Abstract
Spirographic examination of 533 foundry workers and 243 control-group workers has shown considerably lower values of forced vital capacity (FVC) and one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1.0)in foundry workers, both for the sum total of all the age groups and for the corresponding age groups. Lower values of FVC and FEV1.0 occur proportional to duration of exposure to air pollution at work. The averages of FEV1.0 are considerably lower in foundry-worker nonsmokers (3.483 ml) and smokers (3.361 ml), than in the same smoking categories of the control group (nonsmokers 3.987 ml and smokers 3.637 ml). These differences are statistically significant (P<.001 and P<.005). Lower values of FEV1.0 and FVC have been found in subjects without chronic bronchitis for the sum total of all age groups and in separate age groups of foundry workers in comparison with the control groups. The reduction of ventilatory capacity and the increased frequency of ventilatory disturbances in foundry workers over those of the control groups, are influenced by air pollution at the place of work, and secondarily by tobacco smoking, in addition to other factors.

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