Asymptomatic Small Airway Obstruction in Nonsmoking Traffic Police Personnel of Central Karnataka: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Introduction: Air pollution is one of the key global health and environmental concern. It has been ranked among top five global risk factor of mortality by health effect institute. Long-term exposure to air pollution can cause respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive airway disease. This study aims to determine lung function test parameters in traffic police personnel.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study of sample size 104 was conducted among traffic police personnel (52) and general police personnel (52) in central Karnataka. An interviewer administered questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic details, body mass index (BMI), work experience in years, and lung function parameters assessed by using spirometry was recorded. The spirometric parameters between exposed and nonexposed groups were compared by the independent T test, and the odds ratio was calculated to measure the strength of association.

Results: The mean duration of active service in the traffic police personnel was 3.8 ± 4.95 years. FEV1 was significantly lower in traffic policemen (3.08 L) as against the general policemen (3.25 L). FEF 25-75 was also lower in traffic policemen (3.27 L) as compared to general policemen (3.90 L) (P value = 0.004, CI-0.19-1.06). FEV1/FVC (%) among traffic policemen (84.9%) was lower when compared to general policemen (88.7%) (P value = 0.0011, CI-1.59 to 6.12). The odds of having small airway obstruction in traffic policemen were 4.2 times (P value = 0.001, CI-1.74 to 10.10) more than the general policemen.

Conclusion: Our study showed that the traffic policemen had significant small airway obstruction without any respiratory symptoms. Early recognition of small airway disease and prevention of further exposure by personal protective measures and administrative controls can prevent progression to severe chronic airway disease.