标题：Relationship between concentrations of microbiological agents in the air of agricultural settings and occurrence of work-related symptoms in exposed persons
期刊名称：Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine
印刷版ISSN：1232-1966
电子版ISSN：1898-2263
出版年度：2015
卷号：22
期号：3
页码：473-477
DOI：10.5604/12321966.1167717
出版社：Institute of Agricultural Medicine in Lublin
摘要：For assessment of the dose-response relationship between concentrations of microbial agents in the air of variousagricultural settings and occurrence of work-related symptoms in exposed workers, a meta-analysis of the results obtainedin 1994–2007 on the territory of eastern Poland was performed. The studies on the airborne concentrations of totalculturable microorganisms, mesophilic bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, thermophilic actinomycetes, fungi, and bacterialendotoxins, as well as on the frequency of work-related respiratory and general symptoms in the exposed workers, werecarried out at grain, thyme, valerian, flax, and hop handling on farms, in cow barns, piggeries, horse stables and in amodern hatchery. The airborne concentrations of the total microorganisms were in the range of 9.2–1236.5 × 103 CFU/m3,of the total mesophilic bacteria 3.5–1225.8 × 103 CFU/m3, of Gram-negative bacteria 0.0- 46.2 × 103 CFU/m3, of thermophilicactinomycetes 0.0–7.1 × 103 CFU/m3, of fungi 2.1–77.9 × 103 CFU/m3, and of bacterial endotoxin 0.00925–429.55 μg/m3. Thefrequency of work-related symptoms ranged between 21.7–63.8%. In a meta-analysis for assessment of the correlationsbetween the log-transformed concentrations of airborne microbial agents and the occurrence of work-related symptoms,the multiple regression test was applied. Statistically significant correlations were found between the occurrence of workrelatedsymptoms and the concentration of total airborne microorganisms (R=0.748555; P=0.020317), mesophilic bacteria(R=0.7573; P=0.029548), Gram-negative bacteria (R=0.835938; P=0.019129), and endotoxins (R=0.705356; P=0.03378). Thecorrelations between the concentrations of thermophilic actinomycetes and fungi, on one side, and frequency of work-relatedsymptoms on the other, did not attain the threshold of significance (P=0.087049 and P=0.062963, respectively). Results ofthe meta-analysis confirm harmful health effects of the total airborne microorganisms, total airborne mesophilic bacteria,airborne Gram-negative bacteria, and airborne bacterial endotoxin on the occupationally-exposed agricultural workers, andindicate a need for the establishment of internationally recognized occupational exposure limits for these microbial agents.
