Biopersistent Granular Dust and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Irene Brüske, Elisabeth Thiering, Joachim Heinrich, Katharina Huster and Dennis Nowak

PLOS ONE, 2013, vol. 8, issue 11, 1-

Abstract: Objective: Applying a systematic review to identify studies eligible for meta-analysis of the association between occupational exposure to inorganic dust and the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and conducting a meta-analysis. Data Sources: Searches of PubMed and Embase for the time period 1970–2010 yielded 257 cross-sectional and longitudinal studies on people exposed to inorganic dust at the workplace with data on lung function. These studies were independently abstracted and evaluated by two authors; any disagreement was resolved by a third reviewer. Of 55 publications accepted for meta-analysis, 27 investigated the effects of occupational exposure to biopersistent granular dust (bg-dust). Methods: A random effects meta-analysis allowed us to provide an estimate of the average exposure effect on spirometric parameters presented in forest plots. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed by using I2 statistics, with I2>25% indicating significant heterogeneity. Publication bias was investigated by visual inspection of funnel plots. The influence of individual studies was assessed by dropping the respective study before pooling study-specific estimates. Results: The mean FEV1 of workers exposed to bg-dust was 160 ml lower or 5.7% less than predicted compared to workers with no/low exposure. The risk of an obstructive airway disease—defined as FEV1/FVC

Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0080977

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0080977

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