Primary |
Antao VC |
2011 |
USA |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
World trade center rescue and recovery workers (RRW) |
Respiratory symptoms and diseases |
Use of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and type of mask |
9,296 RRW met inclusion criteria for the study |
RRW who used different types of respirators were significantly less likely to report adverse respiratory outcomes compared to those who reported no respiratory protection: (OR= odds ratio, all statistically significant at p<0.05 level).
Types of respirators: type 1=full facepiece; type 2=half facepiece; type 3=disposable filtering facepiece; type 4=surgical or nuisance dust masks.
• For shortness of breath, OR = 0.69 and 0.79 for types 2 and 3, respectively.
• For wheezing, OR = 0.69 and 0.74 for types 2 and 3, respectively.
• For chronic cough, OR = 0.52, 0.73, 0.70, and 0.81 for types 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.
• For upper respiratory symptoms, OR = 0.70, 0.74, and 0.85 for types 1, 2, and 4, respectively.
• For asthma, OR = 0.79 for type 4.
• For COPD, OR = 0.70 for type 2. |