Tables
- TABLE 1
Demographic, exposure and clinical characteristics of study participants
Participants 272 Demographics Age, years# 46.9±13.6 Male 248 (91) BMI, kg·m−2# 29.6±6.0 Ever smokers 173 (64) Smoking pack-years 3 (0–16.4) Caucasian ethnicity 219 (81) Educational qualifications Grade school 8 (3) High school 36 (13) Trade school 128 (47) College/university 100 (37) Marital status Single/unmarried 82 (30) Married/with a partner 172 (63) Divorced/separated/widowed 18 (7) Exposure history Childhood smoke exposure 182 (67) Parental lung condition 74 (27) Exposure to mineral fibres# 259 (95) Use of PPE for mineral fibres# 161 (59) Clinical profile Episodes of chest infection in the past 3 years¶,+ 2 (1–2) White blood cell profile Baseline Follow-up+ Neutrophil % 58±10 59±10 Eosinophil % 3±2 3±2 Lymphocyte % 30±8 30±9 Monocyte % 8±2 8±2 Lymphocyte/monocyte ratio§ 3.84±1.31 3.76±1.45 Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio§ 2.26±1.45 2.31±1.19 Data are presented as mean±sd or median (interquartile range) for numerical variables, and n (%) for categorical variables. BMI: body mass index; PPE: personal protective equipment. #: data taken at the baseline visit; ¶: data taken at the follow-up visit; +: median interval between baseline and follow-up visit was 3.8 years; §: ratio of absolute count.
Vol 8 Issue 2
Table of Contents
Chronic effects of occupational exposure to mineral fibres and recurrent chest infections in insulators
