Pulmonary effects of intermittent, seasonal exposure to high concentrations of cotton dust

Table 1 Demographic characteristics, smoking habits, and exposure levels of the studied subjects

Variables	Exposed workers	Unexposed subjects
	(n = 51)	(n = 51)
Age (yr)1	40.7 ± 11.54	40.2 ± 12.1
Height (cm)1	169 ± 4.84	170.3 ± 4.8
Weight (kg)1	70.1 ± 9.74	73.5 ± 12.1
Duration of exposure or employment (yr)1	10.7 ± 7.84	9.5 ± 5.2
Marital status2
Single	5 (10%)4	9 (18%)
Married	46 (90%)4	42 (82%)
Smoking2
Yes	31 (61%)4	28 (55%)
No	20 (39%)4	23 (45%)
Light3	21 (41%)4	19 (37%)
Heavy	10 (20%)4	9 (18%)
Cotton exposure (mg/m3)
Ginning section	35.2 ± 11.6	NA
Fed section	14.9 ± 6.2	NA
Seed separator area	18.5 ± 10.1	NA
Outdoor	6.8 ± 4.2	NA

¹Independent sample T test;

²χ² or Fisher’s exact test;

³Light: < 5 cigarettes per day, heavy: ≥ 5 cigarettes per day;

⁴No significant differences exist between the exposed and unexposed subjects (P > 0.05). NA: Not available.