The association of forced expiratory volume in one second with occupational exposures in a longitudinal study of adults in a rural community in Iowa

• Published in: International archives of occupational and environmental health Vol. 96; no. 6; pp. 919 - 930
• Main Authors: Henneberger, Paul K., Rollins, Steven M., Humann, Michael J., Liang, Xiaoming, Doney, Brent C., Kelly, Kevin M., Cox-Ganser, Jean M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.08.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Air flow; Bronchodilators; Cigarette smoking; Cigarettes; Dust; Dust - analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental Health; Exposure; Forced Expiratory Volume; Fumes; Humans; Iowa - epidemiology; Longitudinal Studies; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Exposure - adverse effects; Occupational health; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Original Article; Population studies; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Regression analysis; Regression models; Rehabilitation; Risk factors; Rural areas; Rural communities; Rural Population; Smoking; Iowa; United States > US; Lifetime work history; Obstructive pulmonary disease; Rural adults; Job-exposure matrix; Longitudinal study
• ISSN: 0340-0131; 1432-1246; 1432-1246
• DOI: 10.1007/s00420-023-01979-4

Purpose The Keokuk County Rural Health Study (KCRHS) is a longitudinal population-based study conducted in rural Iowa. A prior analysis of enrollment data identified an association of airflow obstruction with occupational exposures only among cigarette smokers. The current study used spirometry data from all three rounds to investigate whether level of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 ) and longitudinal change in FEV 1 were associated with occupational vapor–gas, dust, and fumes (VGDF) exposures, and whether these associations were modified by smoking. Methods This study sample comprised 1071 adult KCRHS participants with longitudinal data. A job-exposure matrix (JEM) was applied to participants’ lifetime work histories to assign exposures to occupational VGDF. Mixed regression models of pre-bronchodilator FEV 1 (millimeters, ml) were fit to test for associations with occupational exposures while adjusting for potential confounders. Results Mineral dust had the most consistent association with change in FEV 1 , including ever/never ( – 6.3 ml/year) and nearly every level of duration, intensity, and cumulative exposure. Because 92% of participants with mineral dust also had organic dust exposure, the results for mineral dust may be due to a combination of the two. An association of FEV 1 level with fumes was observed for high intensity ( – 91.4 ml) among all participants, and limited to cigarette smokers with results of  – 104.6 ml ever/never exposed,  – 170.3 ml high duration, and  – 172.4 ml high cumulative. Conclusion The current findings suggest that mineral dust, possibly in combination with organic dust, and fumes exposure, especially among cigarette smokers, were risk factors for adverse FEV 1 results.