REANALYSIS OF A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF PULMONARY-FUNCTION IN COAL-MINERS IN LORRAINE, FRANCE

Multiple methods of statistical analysis were applied on data collecte d on 384 coal miners from the Lorraine region of France. Despite the i rregularity of timing of visits over the follow-up period, similar est imates of decline resulted irrespective of the statistical method used . Deceased smokers showed the highest rates of decline in forced expir atory volume during 1 second (FEV(1)) of 65 to 72 ml/yr, whereas the a live nonsmokers had the lowest decline estimates of 42 to 48 ml/yr. Es timates of FVC decline were found to parallel those of FEV,. For about one-half of the cohort, data were available to compare FEV, decline b efore and after retirement using a profile analysis. Based upon a ''di fferencing'' method of regression, retirement from the coal mine had t he effect of decreasing the rate of decline for those who had never sm oked; smokers, however, showed an increasing rate of decline. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.