Respiratory Health Problems of Rice Mill Workers in Ampara Divisional Secretariat Division

Abstract

Rice milling is one of the major occupations in Ampara district which is done in various production scales. Cough, phlegm, chest tightness and wheeze were common among rice mill workers. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and lung function measurements of rice mill workers in the Divisional Secretariat Division of Ampara. The participants in the study and control groups were matched for age, height, weight and ethnicity. Prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms was obtained by a validated questionnaire together with lung function measurements. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and ratio of FEV1 compared to FVC were measured using mini-vitalograph spirometer and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) was measured using peak expiratory flow meter. Breathing difficulty, wheezing and having cough were significantly high among the study group compared to the control group (p<0.05) and mean FVC and PEFR were significantly lower among the study group compared to the controls (p<0.01).Therefore, it may be concluded that dust originating from the rice mills causes increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms leading to mixed type of restrictive and obstructive respiratory diseases.