Pulmonary health status of ginning factory women laborers in Tirupur, India

Ginning factories discharge large amounts of cotton dust, which leads to decreased pulmonary function in the exposed subjects. An attempt was made to study the pulmonary functions of women laborers employed in ginning factory located in Tirupur, a textile based city in Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu, India. The women were subjected to spirometric analysis and chest X-ray examinations. Occupational lung disorders that included byssinosis, chronic bronchitis and occupational asthma were studied in these women by assessing their pulmonary function tests, clinical symptoms, age and duration of exposure to cotton dust. Standard normal distribution, Chi-square analysis and multiple correlation analysis were the statistical methods applied in this study. Significant occupational acute and chronic pulmonary changes were observed in these women. Both age and duration of exposure together had a significant impact on their pulmonary function as per the results of the multiple correlation statistical analysis. There was a significant distribution of women with pulmonary impairment in all the sections of the ginning factory. Some recommendations were also suggested for controlling the occupational lung diseases caused by cotton dust.