HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Babbott, F L Articles by Holly, R C Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Babbott, F L, Jr Articles by Holly, R C

Respiratory symptoms and lung function in a sample of Vermont dairymen and industrial workers.

F L Babbott, Jr, D W Gump, D L Sylwester, B V MacPherson and R C Holly

This study reviews the respiratory status of a sample of Vermont male dairy farmers, and a comparison group from industry, matched for age, sex and smoking. Survey instruments included a standardized questionnaire and simple pulmonary function tests. In general, past and present smokers had more respiratory symptoms than never-smokers; and farmers, in all smoking categories, reported symptoms with greater frequency than did their counterparts from industry. Forced vital capacity (FVC) tended to be lower among men with a history of smoking but, within each smoking category, dairymen and factory workers had very similar FVCs. Farmers who had never smoked or who were current cigarette users had lower FEV1/FVC (forced expiratory volume at one second/forced vital capacity) ratios than their controls from industry. Sixteen diarymen demonstrated precipitins to either Micropolyspora faeni (13) or Thermoactinomyces vulgaris, (3), but only one reported a constellation of symptoms compatible with farmer's lung disease. The estimated prevalence of antibodies to thermophilic actinomyces in this farm population was approximately 10 per cent. Although sample sizes were limited, dairymen from small farms tended to be older, have more respiratory symptoms, less satisfactory pulmonary function, and more serologic evidence of exposure to farmer's lung antigens than their counterparts from large farms.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S.J. Bourke, J.C. Dalphin, G. Boyd, C. McSharry, C.I. Baldwin, and J.E. Calvert Hypersensitivity pneumonitis: current concepts Eur. Respir. J., July 1, 2001; 18(32_suppl): 81S - 92s. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-C. DALPHIN, A. DUBIEZ, E. MONNET, D. GORA, V. WESTEEL, D. PERNET, J.-C. POLIO, R. GIBEY, J.-J. LAPLANTE, and A. DEPIERRE Prevalence of Asthma and Respiratory Symptoms in Dairy Farmers in the French Province of the Doubs Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., November 1, 1998; 158(5): 1493 - 1498. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Schenker Respiratory Health Hazards in Agriculture Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., November 1, 1998; 158(2007): S1 - S76. [Full Text] [PDF]