Table 1 Characteristics of the study population.
From: A prospective study of decline in lung function in relation to welding emissions
Participants in follow-up | Non-participants | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Welders N = 68 | Non-welders1 N = 32 | N = 43 | |
Age at enrollment in 1987, years, mean (range) | 33.2 (19–55) | 34.9 (21–58) | 30.8 (18–53) |
Height, cm, mean (range) | 178 (160–190) | 179 (171–193) | |
Weight, kg, mean (range) | 87.2 (65–124) | 84.4 (70–125) | . |
Tobacco smoking, n (%) | |||
Never-smoker | 27 (40) | 10 (31) | 14 (33) |
Ex-smoker in 1987 | 9 (13) | 4 (13) | 6 (14) |
Current smoker in 1987 | 32 (47) | 18 (56) | 23 (53) |
Current smoker in 2004 | 19 (28) | 11 (34) | . |
Packyears2, mean (range) | |||
Until 1987 | 13 (2–35) | 12 (2–34) | 8.0 (2.5–27) |
1987–2004 | 11 (1–25) | 8 (1–30) | . |
COPD, n (%)3 | 9 (13) | 2 (6) | 1 (2) |
History of atopy, n (%) | 9 (13) | 5 (16) | . |
Alfa-1-antitrypsin (serum), mg/dl, mean (range) | 142 (90–220) | 138 (70–210) | . |
Forced expiratory volume 1 sec (FEV1)4 | |||
Liter/second, mean (range) | 4.39 (3.0–5.8) | 4.41 (3.3–6.0) | 4.53 (3.0–6.0) |
% of population average (range) | 106 (82–126) | 106 (82–130) | 108.1 (88–138) |
Forced expiratory capacity (FVC)4 | |||
liter, mean (range) | 5.39 (3.6–7.1) | 5.54 (4.2–7.3) | 5.55 (3.7–6.9) |
% of population average (range) | 107 (81–130) | 108 (89–133) | 109 (86–138) |