Respiratory symptoms, lung function, and igg4 levels against pig antigens in a sample of dutch pig farmers

Abstract

In 1983 we distributed a postal questionnaire with 30 questions about the locomotor system, respiratory tract, the skin, and general health condition and about health hazards in the work environment to a sample of farmers. In addition, we asked the farmers to express their opinion about what they experienced as the main health hazards in their work environment.The questionnaire was sent to 1,895 randomly selected farmers. Main occupation is farming in one of the eight categories; the farmers were registered by the Agricultural Economic Institute. The random sample was stratified into eight categories for farm size. The age of the farmers was between 40 and 60 years. The final response rate was approximately 70%, and there was no significant difference in response rate between the different categories of farmers.Pig farming and poultry husbandry had the largest number of health problems. The pig farmers scored high, especially for respiratory symptoms, and they complained often about dust exposure Willems et al, 19841.Lung function was measured according to the ECCS standard [Quanjer, 19831 in a population of 174 pig farmers 25-65 years old. Additional information was gathered with a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms, qualitative exposure, farm characteristics, and confounding factors. Ultimately, the population used for analysis consisted of 132 persons Pongers, 19841. Based on the expected differences in types of pig farms, we divided the population into three groups: 1) farmers fattening pigs (n = 62), 2) farmers breeding pigs (n = 42), and 3) farmers both breeding and fattening pigs (closed pig farm) (n = 28).

Respiratory health of workers exposed to swine confinement buildings only or to both swine confinement buildings and dairy barns.

“…There are large differences in the report ed incidence of respiratory ailments, such as chronic bronchitis, and in th e functional impairment observed. Som e studies ha ve reported a very high prevalence of cough and sputum production for these workers (2-4), while others found fewer symptomatic subjects (5,6). Similar differences can be found for the number o f subjects with abnormal pulmonary fun ctions (5,7).…”

“…Som e studies ha ve reported a very high prevalence of cough and sputum production for these workers (2-4), while others found fewer symptomatic subjects (5,6). Similar differences can be found for the number o f subjects with abnormal pulmonary fun ctions (5,7). Some of these differences can be explained by dif fer ences in study populations and differences in the swine building enviro nme nts.…”

“…The prevalence of hog producers with seru m precipit ins to these specific antigens is currently unknown . Previous studies ha ve reported variable prevalences of immunoglobulin G (lgG) to hog and feed antigens and to swine building dust (5,11,15). Interstitial changes in the lungs of guinea pigs and rabbits raised in swine confinement buildings have been described (16) , and pos sible interstitial abnormalities have been suggested for swine building workers (7).…”

“…Climatic conditions in the different co untr ies where the studies were done could also have in fluenced the results, In colder climate swine buildings tend to be less well ventilated , while microbial gro wth ma y be more impo rta nt in warmer environments. Oth er confoundi ng vari able s, such as the small size o f the study population a nd th e ab sence or ina dequacy of references, mak e th e interpretation o f published result s so metimes dif ficult (2,3,5,6,8,9).…”

Implications in the health of workers in swine confinement buildings - effects on the respiratory system

“…Αυτή η κατάσταση θεωρείται διαφορετική από το άσθμα και ακούει στον όρο "ασθματοειδές σύν δρομο" (asthma-like syndrome). Ωστόσο, εργαζόμενοι με άσθμα αναφέρεται ότι μπορεί να παρουσιάσουν έντονα συμπτώματα λόγω του ερεθισμού από τη σκόνη και τα α έρια του συγκεκριμένου περιβάλλοντος, παρ' ότι κάτι τέ τοιο δεν έχει επαρκώς τεκμηριωθεί 29 . Συμφωνά με κάποι ους ερευνητές, η αυξημένη ανταπόκριση των εργαζομέ νων στη χορήγηση μεταχολίνης, μπορεί να αποτελεί και ένδειξη φλεγμονής των αεραγωγών 30 " 33 .…”