Respiratory Health Status of Workers in a Bottling Factory in Benin City, Nigeria

Introduction: There is a paucity of data on the respiratory health status of workers in bottling factories in Benin City, Nigeria. Such data will help to drive future studies and influence policy development on occupational health and safety in the country. This study assesses the respiratory symptoms and spirometric indices of exposed workers and controls. Methods: Respiratory symptoms and spirometric parameters of 18 workers on routine mandatory annual lung screening were assessed using the modified MRC (Medical Research Council) questionnaire and spirometer respectively, according to the European Respiratory Society and American Thoracic Society (ERS/ATS) guidelines. Results: The mean age of workers was 35.1 ± 6.7 years. Workers and controls were similar in age, sex, BMI (Body Mass Index) and health status (p > 0.05). Respiratory symptoms were significantly higher among workers compared to controls. Overall, the result was statistically significant in the variables of wheeze in a smoky or dusty environment, presence of at least one respiratory symptom, better symptoms at weekends and better symptoms during holidays (p < 0.05). In particular, 6 (33.3%) exposed workers had wheeze in a smoky or dusty environment, 9 (50.0%) exposed workers reported at least one respiratory symptom compared with 2 (11.1%) controls, 5 (27.8%) had better symptoms at weekends, and 7 (38.9%) had better symptoms at holidays (p < 0.05). Generally, the reported frequency of respiratory symptoms among exposed workers were: cough (22.2%), sputum production (5.6%), breathlessness (11.1%) and wheeze (44.4%). Similarly, workers had significantly lower spirometric indices than controls, particularly in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁), FEV₁/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio and forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of FVC (FEF 25⁻75%) measurements. Conclusions: This study provides evidence of adverse respiratory health effects among bottling factory workers which requires further investigation.