Lung function in fuel station attendants : a comparative study

Abstract

Volatile fuel compounds and roadway motor vehicle exhaust are the major sources of a hazardous environment for the full time fuel station attendant. Various studies has demonstrated that attendants are at increased risk of chronic lung disease and carcinogenesis. Moreover, tobacco smoking further accelerates this process. Spirometry is an objective way of assessing lung function. The aims of this study was to infer whether fuel station attendants manifest a further decrease in lung function when compared to other full-time workers working outdoors and whether smoking tobacco manifest a further decrease in lung function among attendants. Lung function of 30 fuel station attendants (28.6 ± 6.24 years} was compared to 30 outdoor workers (27.53 ± 5.59 years} as control group via spirometry. Half of both exposed and control group consisted of participants who smoke tobacco. All participants were Caucasian males. Results showed a statistically significant decrease in FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC ratio in the exposed group when compared to the control (FEV1 78.84 ± 7.19% of predicted vs 87.97 ± 8.32% of predicted, p <0.001; FVC 85.84 ± 7.00% of predicted vs 90.24 ± 9.41% of predicted, p = 0.02; FEV1/FVC ratio (76.28 ± 4.72% vs 81.15 ± 4.31%, p <0.001}. Fuel station attendants who smoke showed a significant drop in lung function when compared to non smoking attendants (FEV1 75.38 ± 4.31% of predicted vs 81.74 ± 8.18% of predicted, p 0.006; FVC89.93 ± 5.43% of predicted vs 88.75 ± 7.34% of predicted, p = 0.01). More research is needed to further shed light on the exposure hazards that fuel stations attendants face.