Epidemiological survey for respiratory diseases among agricultural industry
workers, such as bakeries, poultry farms, granaries and a sugar refinery was carried out
using a medical questionnaire on various respiratory symptoms such as cough,
breathlessness, rhinitis. The questionnaire was filled up by two doctoral students during
personal visits to these work environments. The survey revealed that 40–59% of
workers in different occupational work environments suffered from one or more
respiratory ailments. As much as 36–40% of the workers reported work-related
symptoms which is close to similar data from Western countries. A higher incidence of
respiratory disorders was recorded in workers with longer duration of employment.
Older workers suffered more than the young ones. Family history of atopy was found to
have least effect on the incidence of cough, breathlessness and rhinitis in the workers.
Smoking was found to have definite impact on the incidence of cough and
breathlessness