Study of pulmonary function test in brick kiln workers in Ambala district (Haryana)

The objective of this study is to assess pulmonary functions among brick kiln workers in Ambala district and to analyse the extent of impairment and its relation to duration of employment. The pulmonary functions were conducted on 30 male non-smoker brick kiln workers by using computerized spiro-excel. These workers were categorized into 3 major groups on basis of their working duration i.e. exposure from 1-5 years, 6-10 years and 11-15 years. Parameters recorded were PEFR, FEV1, FVC, FEF (25-75%) and FEV1/FVC%. For each participant chest X-ray was also taken. The results were compared with 30 non smoker control group randomly selected from general population who never worked in industry. Our result showed significantly lower P value <0.01 in PEFR, FEV1, FVC and FEF 25-75% in brick kiln workers when compared to control group. The decrease was highly significant P value <0.001 in group whose duration of exposure was longer i.e. 11-15 years. This study indicates that workers in brick kiln factory are at high risk of developing mixed pattern of obstructive and/or restrictive ventilatory impairment and degree of impairment directly correlate with duration of the employment.