Respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function of workers employed in textile dyeing factory in Turkey

Dyes are known to be a causative agent of occupational asthma exposed to them. We evaluate respiratory symptoms among textile. The study population comprised 106 exposed workers and control (unexposed) group. Data were collected by a questionnaire. Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs) were performed. Among the exposed workers 36.8% defined phlegm. Respiratory symptoms were not significantly different between two groups. The employment duration of the exposed workers with phlegm was longer than those without phlegm (p = 0.027). The mean % predicted of forced expiratory flow (FEF) 25-75 of the exposed workers was found to be significantly lower than the control (unexposed) group (p = 0.01). Our study suggests that textile dyeing might cause respiratory symptoms at workers.