ACUTE EFFECTS ON FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN ONE SECOND AND LONGITUDINAL CHANGE IN PULMONARY-FUNCTION AMONG WOOD TRIMMERS

Wood trimmers are exposed to molds that periodically grow on timber, a nd may develop acute as well as chronic pulmonary function impairment. This study examined whether these acute changes in pulmonary function are predictors for a longitudinal deterioration in pulmonary function , beyond normal aging and exposure. Across-shift changes in pulmonary function, measured during a working week, were evaluated in 15 wood tr immers with a follow-up time of 27 months. Twenty-six sawmill workers, employed at the same plants as the wood trimmers, served as control s ubjects. The highest concentration of viable mold spores for the wood trimmers was 10(6) colony-forming units (Cfu)/m3, i.e., several times higher than the corresponding value for the sawmill workers. At the fo llow-up, wood trimmers had a lower forced vital capacity (FVC) on aver age, after adjustment for age and height, compared to the sawmill work ers. In addition, a correlation was found between the across-week chan ge in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and the decline in F EV1 between the first and the second occasion, after adjusting for nor mal aging in nonsmoking wood trimmers (r2 = 84%, p < 0.001). The resul ts from the present study suggest that across-shift decrease in FEV1 ( measured during a working week) might serve as a guide to identify sub jects being at risk for a further decrement in pulmonary function over and above the effects of normal aging and exposure to mold spores in the wood trimming department. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.