Pulmonary function and respiratory health of rural farmers and artisanal and small scale gold miners in Ghana.

ABSTRACT: The recent increase in artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM) worldwide has elicited a number of public health concerns for miners and mining communities, including respiratory health. The two primary inhalational exposures of concern are crystalline silica expected to be present in gold ore and smoke from biomass fuels used in cooking. Here, measurements of pulmonary function and of respiratory symptoms were performed in an ASGM community, Kejetia, and a comparison agricultural community, Gorogo, in the Upper East Region of Ghana in May-July 2011. Of 172 participants, 159 performed spirometry, yielding 119 and 95 valid measurements for FEV₁ and FVC, respectively. Percent predicted FEV₁, FVC and FEV₁/FVC, which were lower than predicted for a healthy

SUBMITTER: Rajaee M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5609509 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature