RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS IN COTTON MILL WORKERS

BACKGROUND Cotton textile workers are at increased risk of respiratory symptoms such as chest tightness, chronic bronchitis and loss of pulmonary function due to inhalational exposure to cotton dust. Indore has been a hub of textile manufacturing from past 30 -40 years and a large subset of population is employed in textile manufacturing. An observational study was conducted on 200 subjects in the suburbs of Indore city to compare prevalence of respiratory problems among cotton mill workers and unexposed individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS Universal sampling method was used to decide sample size. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 20.0 version. Continuous variables are presented as mean SD. Categorical variables are expressed as frequencies and percentages. Chi-square test is used for the determination of association between two qualitative variables and independent sample t-test will be used for evaluation of difference between means. A p-value of less than 0.05 will be taken to indicate significant difference. RESULTS Cotton mill workers were predominantly found to have COPD Stage 2 and 3 which was seen in 70% of the subjects and Bronchial Asthma seen in 30% of the subjects. CONCLUSION Study showed that respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function abnormalities are seen more frequently in cotton workers compared to controls. It can be concluded from the study that more aggressive measures must be taken in the workplace with regular sampling of the workplace and regular medical check-up of all cotton mill workers should be done to prevent the harmful respiratory effect of cotton dust exposure on lung function.