Background: This study aimed to investigate the pulmonary functions of silicaexposed workers and their health-related quality of life in an insulator
manufacturing industry.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants selected
from the manufacturing unit (n = 127) constituted the exposed group and those
from the administrative department (n = 30) constituted the unexposed group.
All subjects were evaluated using personal air sampling of crystalline silica,
pulmonary function tests, and a quality of life questionnaire (36-item short form
health survey [SF-36]).
Results: The mean (SD) concentrations of crystalline silica were 0.507 (0.23)
mg/m3 and 0.0116 (0.008) mg/m3 for the exposed and unexposed groups,
respectively. All the pulmonary function indices and all the physical and
mental health domains of the workers were significantly lower than those of the
administrative clerks (p < 0.05). The silica concentration did not significantly
correlate with the quality of life components and all the pulmonary function
indices (p > 0.05), except for forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory
volume in one second (FEV1) (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: In conclusion, the workers exposed to higher levels of crystalline
silica had lower values of pulmonary function indices and lower health-related
quality of life; however, further follow-up studies are needed to confirm these
findings.