rosin and Respiration-Disorders

Clinical and research interests in occupational asthma increased dramatically in the 1980s. Advances in our knowledge base have led to improved recognition, management, and methods for preventing this disorder. An accelerated pace of basic and clinical research is anticipated in the 1990s. These efforts will likely lead to a more complete understanding of the disease (and pay dividends in understanding asthma itself). Occupational asthma is predicted to be the preeminent occupational lung disease in the next decade.

Topics: Allergens; Asthma; Cyanates; Disability Evaluation; Dust; Epoxy Resins; Humans; Occupational Diseases; Prevalence; Prognosis; Resins, Plant; Respiration Disorders; Salts; Tars; Wood; Workers' Compensation

The objectives of this study were to establish the prevalence of respiratory, eye, nose and throat symptoms of likely work-relation in workers exposed to colophony solder flux fumes and to assess their lung function. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four medium-sized electronics firms in which control measures to capture solder flux fume were absent or visibly ineffective. All female solders and women working adjacent to soldering stations completed an administered questionnaire concerning symptoms, work history and current soldering frequency. Measurements were made of their forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) during the course of a working shift, using a Vitallograph-Compact portable spirometer. Using weekly hours of soldering as a crude index of current exposure, workers were classified into high (> or = 37 h/wk) and low (< or = 20 h/wk) exposure groups, and their health responses were compared in the analysis. Individuals with symptoms suggestive of work-related asthma were also asked to provide serial peak flow measurements over a further 2-week period, and adequate returns were charted and read by two physicians experienced in the diagnosis of occupational asthma. Data were collected on 152 female workers (overall participation rate = 97%). Symptoms of recurrent, persistent wheeze and/or chest tightness were reported by 75 (49%) of interviewees; 36 (24%) gave a history typical of occupational asthma and six more (4%) a history of pre-existing asthma worsened at work. Twenty-one (14%) of the workforce complained of recurrent breathlessness on moderate exertion; 41 workers (27%) had work-related symptoms of the nose or throat and 25 (16%) had work-related eye symptoms. The odds ratios for 'all wheeze', shortness of breath, and work-related eye, nose and chest symptoms were all significantly greater (raised about 4-5 fold) in women who soldered > or = 37 h/wk when compared with those soldering < or = 20 h/wk. After adjustment by logistic regression for atopy, age and smoking status even higher risk estimates were generally obtained. The odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for high vs. low were: for 'all wheeze', OR = 7.2, CI = 2.5-20.7; for work-related eye symptoms, OR = 5.2, CI = 1.4-19.8; for work-related nasal symptoms, OR = 4.0, CI = 1.4-11.1 and for occupational asthma symptoms, OR = 5.2, CI = 1.4-14.2. Mean FEV1 and FVC percentage difference from expected were slightly lower in ful

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Air Pollutants, Occupational; Cross-Sectional Studies; Electronics; England; Eye Diseases; Female; Forced Expiratory Volume; Humans; Middle Aged; Odds Ratio; Prevalence; Resins, Plant; Respiration Disorders; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Smoking; Vital Capacity

Fumes from solder flux have been shown to cause asthma among solderers in a British electronics factory. In the present study, questionnaires and lung spirometry were administered to 104 U.S. electronics workers (93 women, 11 men) who soldered printed circuit boards. Two types of solder flux were used: 68 subjects had worked only with a rosin-core (colophony) solder; 36 had changed from rosin- to an aqua-core ("phosphorous hexate") solder 15 months before the study. Symptoms of eye, throat, and nose irritation occurred in nearly half of the total group. Lower respiratory tract symptoms, including cough, phlegm production, and wheezing, also occurred with increased frequency, compared with reported rates among a general population. Similar symptom rates were observed among the aqua- and rosin-core groups. That these symptoms were work related was indicated by the subject's improvement on weekends or during vacation periods. On average, lung spirometry performed before starting work on Monday mornings showed no impairment in lung function; over the course of the work day there were small decrements in the forced expiratory volume at 1 s (mean, -21 +/- 11 [SD] ml) and forced vital capacity (-30 +/- 145 ml), but these decrements were unrelated to the individual amounts of solder used during the same period. Among the white female workers (N = 83), several multivariate analyses indicated that an increase in the amount of soldering had a beneficial effect on lung function, particularly among those who currently smoked. This paradox probably resulted from a "healthy worker effect" resulting from some individuals with lower than average lung function who left the industry early in the course of their employment.

Topics: Adult; Air Pollutants, Occupational; Electronics; Female; Gases; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases; Organophosphorus Compounds; Resins, Plant; Respiration Disorders; Respiratory Function Tests; Smoking