IJEP 41(3): 340-346 : Vol. 41 Issue. 3 (March 2021)
1. City College, Department of Physiology, Raja Rammohan Sarani, Kolkata – 700 009, India
2. Panskura Banamali College, Department of Physiology, Purba Midnapore, West Bengal – 721 171, India
3. National Medical College, Department of Physiology, Parsa, Nepal
Abstract
Drivers are exposed to significant amounts of health-damaging air pollutants. The aim of the present investigation was to study the risk of respiratory disorders among professional bus drivers. This case-control study was carried out on 170 bus drivers and 94 control groups. Work history, respiratory symptoms, smoking habit, etc., were recorded. Lung function parameters of the participants were determined by a portable spirometer. The pulmonary parameters of bus drivers were significantly lower than those of controls. Lung function indices of the drivers decline with an increase of duration of exposure. A significant decline in lung function parameter was observed among smokers compared to non-smokers. The prevalence of different respiratory symptoms among bus drivers was significantly higher than that of control participants. The risks of restrictive and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders among bus drivers were 9.31 times and 2.83 times higher than that of control participants, respectively. The likelihood of having a dry cough, productive cough, chest tightness, dyspnea and chest pain were significantly higher among bus drivers than the controls. The present study revealed that exposure to vehicle emissions leads to a significant risk of different pulmonary disorder among professional drivers. Driving with a smoking habit can be termed as a dreadful combination with respect to pulmonary health.
Keywords
Automobile emission, Duration of exposure, Smoking, Respiratory impairment
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