LUNG-FUNCTION AND PRECIPITATING ANTIBODIES IN LOW EXPOSED WOOD TRIMMERS IN SWEDEN

Wood trimmers are exposed to molds that periodically grow on timber th at may induce alveolitis and obstructive lung disease. We have evaluat ed respiratory symptoms, bronchial reactivity, and lung function in 28 wood trimmers at a Swedish sawmill and in 19 unexposed office workers . Eleven (sero-positive) of the wood trimmers had precipitating antibo dies in peripheral blood against one or several molds. The exposure to dust (median 0.26 mg/m3), viable mold spores (median 2950 cfu/m3), vi able bacteria (median 370 cfu/m3), airborne endotoxins (range 0.0015-0 .0025-mu-g/m3), and terpenes (range 0.4-23 mg/m3) was lower than level s that earlier have been reported to affect lung function. The wood tr immers reported an increased prevalence of cough and breathlessness. T hey also showed signs of a mild obstructive impairment with a tendency to increased bronchial sensitivity to metacholine and decreased FEV1 after 2 days free from exposure. FEV1 decreased more during the workin g week in the sero-positive workers than among the sero-negative worke rs, and for the whole group the decrease in FEV1 and MEF25 was correla ted to the degree of mold exposure.