Smoking has a protective effects on functional and inflammatory parameters in workers exposed to artificial stone dust

Abstract

Background –Silicosis is an irreversible lung diseasecaused by overexposureto crystalline silica,. Long-term cigarette smoking damage the respiratory system, leading the smokers to being more susceptible than the never smokers to the adverse health effects of prolonged exposure to hazardous silica dust. Aim –To analyze smoking effect on Pulmonary Function testing ( PFT) in artificial stone workers Study population – 100 workers exposed to artificial stone dust. Methods –PFT, Induced Sputum (IS) , Particle size distribution (PSD laser instrument DIPA2000 Donner Technologies, Israel) and NanoSight LM20 (NanoSight LTD, UK) were done by conventional methods Results –PFT results showed no significant difference between smokers, never smokers and ex-smokers; however when smoking was analyzed according yrs of exposure significant less decline during the yrs was observed in the smokers group. In the current smoking workers with proved silicosis showed a protective effect on PFT parameters OR 0.562 (CI 0.216-1.464, p=0.238). IS analysis showed neutrophilic inflammation in all study population. PSD of particles retrieved from IS samples display a similar pattern in all 3 groups when compared to PSD of artificial stone dust collected from a marble factory, but not to natural stone dust. A significant negative correlation was found between DLCOsb and FEV1/FVC and the accumulation of particles Conclusions –There is evidence that PFT impairment among artificial stone exposed workers is less severe in smokers than in non-smokers without any difference in neutrophilic inflammation pattern.