The prevalence of occupational asthma and rhinitis among woodworkers in south-eastern Nigeria

Wood dusts are known to cause respiratory disorders like rhinitis and asthma. This study was therefore done to determine the magnitude of the problem among woodworkers in south-eastern Nigeria exposed to high level of wood dust. Five hundred and ninety one woodworkers were selected using a stratified random sampling. The prevalence of woodwork-related rhinitis and asthma were then observed in the study population. Also the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) of each woodworker was obtained. The prevalence of occupational rhinitis was 78%, while that of asthma was 6.5%. As period of woodwork increased the prevalence of rhinitis and asthma increased (rhinitis: χ2 trend = 53.015, df = 1, P = 0.000). For asthma, χ² trend =19.721, df = 1, P = 0.000). Also the PEFR significantly became low with increasing years of exposure to woodwork (χ² trend = 75.965, df = 1, P= 0.000). In conclusion the prevalence of rhinitis and asthma in woodworkers was high and significantly increased with years of working as a woodworker.

Keywords
woodwork, peak expiratory flow rate, rhinitis, asthma, wood dust, Nigeria