Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Research Article

The effect of applying ethnicity-specific spirometric reference equations to Asian migrant workers in Korea: Nami Kim, Se-Yeong Kim, Yoojun Song, Chunhui Suh, Kun-Hyung Kim, Jeong-Ho Kim, Byung-Chul Son, Chae-Kwan Lee, Jong-Tae Lee; Ann Occup Environ Med 2015;27:14. Published online May 18, 2015; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-015-0065-0

Objectives

Asian migrant workers in Korea have various ethnicities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the difference in spirometric interpretation made using the set of third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) reference equations and the relevant ethnicity-specific reference sets.

Methods

Spirometry was performed on 166 migrant and 498 Korean male workers between March and November 2012. We analyzed the spirometric data of healthy never-smokers. Spirometric patterns were evaluated using the NHANES III reference set and some relevant ethnicity-specific equations (Eom’s equation for Koreans, Ip’s equation for East Asians, Crapo’s equation for Central Asians, Memon’s equation for South Asians, and Gnanou’s equation for Southeast Asian people).

Results

In all migrant groups except the Central Asian group, the forced expiratory volume in 1 second percentage (FEV₁%) and forced vital capacity percentage (FVC%) calculated using each of the ethnicity-specific reference equations considered were significantly higher than those calculated using the NHANES III reference set. This study showed that in the evaluation of the spirometric result of subjects from Southeast Asia or South Asia, the percentage of cases with an abnormal FEV₁ or FVC increased when the NHANES III set of equations was used as compared to when the ethnicity-specific equations were used.

Conclusions

We found that the spirometric results of all ethnic groups were higher and the composition of the abnormal spirometric result was lower when the ethnicity-specific reference equations were used instead of the NHANES III reference set.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Spirometry Reference Equations for Asian Migrant Workers in Korea: A Proposal
Hwa-Yeon LEE, Yonglim WON
Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science.2023; 55(1): 29. CrossRef
Effect of Race and Ethnicity on Pulmonary Function Testing Interpretation
Darcy D. Marciniuk, Ellen A. Becker, David A. Kaminsky, Meredith C. McCormack, Sanja Stanojevic, Nirav R. Bhakta, Christian Bime, Vikram Comondore, Clayton T. Cowl, Sharon Dell, Jeffrey Haynes, Fred Jaffe, Carl Mottram, Nneka Sederstrom, Mary Townsend, Jo
CHEST.2023; 164(2): 461. CrossRef
Reference equations for evaluation of spirometry function tests in South Asia, and among South Asians living in other countries
Wei Yee Leong, Ananya Gupta, Mehedi Hasan, Sara Mahmood, Samreen Siddiqui, Sajjad Ahmed, Ian Y. Goon, Marie Loh, Theresia H. Mina, Benjamin Lam, Yik Weng Yew, Joanne Ngeow, Jimmy Lee, Eng Sing Lee, Elio Riboli, Paul Elliott, Geak Poh Tan, Sanjay H. Chotir
European Respiratory Journal.2022; 60(6): 2102962. CrossRef
Spirometry reference values for a Kyrgyz population
Denis Vinnikov, Paul D. Blanc, Nurlan Brimkulov
The Clinical Respiratory Journal.2018; 12(2): 826. CrossRef

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Case Report

High lead exposure in two leaded bronze ingot foundry workers: Yoojun Song, Chunhui Suh, Shin-Ae Kim, Nami Kim, Sung-Min Kim, Seong-Wook Jeong, Se-Yeong Kim, Kun-Hyung Kim, Jeong-Ho Kim, Byung-Chul Son, Chae-Kwan Lee, Jong-Tae Lee; Ann Occup Environ Med 2014;26:38. Published online December 1, 2014; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-014-0038-8

Abstract PDF PubReader ePub

Background

Awareness about lead poisoning in South Korea has increased; however, occupational exposures occurring in small-scale businesses have not been thoroughly investigated. We report two cases of high lead exposure in a leaded bronze ingot foundry.

Case presentation

Two employees, a 54-year-old primary operator and a 46-year-old assistant, at a small-scale metalworking company who had been employed for 18 years and 1 month, respectively, showed elevated blood lead levels (61.1 μg/dL and 51.7 μg/dL, respectively) at an occupational health checkup. Neither worker complained of abnormal symptoms nor signs related to lead poisoning. Health assessment follow-ups were conducted and biological exposure indices of lead were calculated every four weeks. After the initial follow-up assessment, both workers were relocated from the foundry process to the metalworking process. In addition, a localized exhaust system was installed after the second follow-up.

Conclusions

Foundry workers in a small-scale businesses might be at high risk of lead exposure because these businesses might be vulnerable to poor industrial hygiene. Therefore, regular occupational health checkups are required.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Comparison of Blood Lead Levels in Children and Adolescents with and Without Functional Abdominal Pain
Fatemeh Famouri, Maryam Yazdi, Awat Feizii, Hossein Saneian, Peiman Nasri, Roya Kelishadi
Advanced Biomedical Research.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Association Between Blood Lead Level With High Blood Pressure in US (NHANES 1999–2018)
Ziyao Huang
Frontiers in Public Health.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
A systematic review of clinical and laboratory findings of lead poisoning: lessons from case reports
Saeed Samarghandian, Farshad M. Shirazi, Farhad Saeedi, Babak Roshanravan, Ali Mohammad Pourbagher-Shahri, Emad Yeganeh Khorasani, Tahereh Farkhondeh, Jan Olav Aaseth, Mohammad Abdollahi, Omid Mehrpour
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.2021; 429: 115681. CrossRef
Exposure to lead and other toxic metals from informal foundries producing cookware from scrap metal
Renee Anne Street, Walter Goessler, Saloshni Naidoo, Busisiwe Shezi, Nokulunga Cele, Jaqueline Rieger, Karl Ettinger, Tarylee Reddy, Angela Mathee
Environmental Research.2020; 191: 109860. CrossRef
Bayesian network model to diagnose WMSDs with working characteristics
Gilseung Ahn, Sun Hur, Myung-Chul Jung
International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics.2020; 26(2): 336. CrossRef
Challenges in diagnosing lead poisoning: A review of occupationally and nonoccupationally exposed cases reported in India
Monica Shirley Mani, Divyani Gurudas Nayak, Herman Sunil Dsouza
Toxicology and Industrial Health.2020; 36(5): 346. CrossRef
Lead Poisoning at an Indoor Firing Range
Kyung Wook Kang, Won-Ju Park
Journal of Korean Medical Science.2017; 32(10): 1713. CrossRef
Occupational Lead Exposure from Indoor Firing Ranges in Korea
Won-Ju Park, Suk-Ho Lee, Se-Ho Lee, Hye-Sik Yoon, Jai-Dong Moon
Journal of Korean Medical Science.2016; 31(4): 497. CrossRef

171 View
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8 Crossref

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