Abstract
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 (FEV1) and longitudinal change in FEV1 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 FEV1 (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 FEV1, 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 FEV1 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 FEV1 results.
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Data are participant-level and cannot be shared publicly.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the many residents of Keokuk County, Iowa, who participated in this study.
Funding
The KCRHS was supported (in part) by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health under Grants #U07/CCU706145 (Round 1) and #U50OH07548 (Round 2 and 3) to the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health at The University of Iowa.
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KM Kelly contributed to the design and implementation (including data collection) of the Keokuk County Rural Health Study, which was the source of the data used in the current study. PK Henneberger, MJ Humann, X Liang, BC Doney, and KM Kelly made substantial contributions to the concept and design of the current study. All authors made substantial contributions to the implementation of the current study. SM Rollins, X Liang, and ML Humann conducted data management and analyses. PK Henneberger drafted the manuscript, assisted by all other authors. All authors contributed to interpretation of results, provided critical review of the manuscript, and approved the final version that was submitted for publication.
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The authors have no competing interests to report.
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The Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of Iowa approved the KCRHS study protocol, and the current analysis is part of a project approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health IRB. Each KCRHS participant provided written informed consent before taking part in the study.
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Henneberger, P.K., Rollins, S.M., Humann, M.J. et al. The association of forced expiratory volume in one second with occupational exposures in a longitudinal study of adults in a rural community in Iowa. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 96, 919–930 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-023-01979-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-023-01979-4