Prospective mortality study among iron miners.

A prospective mortality study was conducted over a period of 5 years on a group of 13,801 iron miners, who were alive on January 1, 1982. During this 5-year period, 1813 deaths were registered. For 1222 (67.

[Respiratory health of children and atmospheric pollution. II. Ventilatory function].

Respiratory function (forced vital capacity-FVC; forced expired volume in one second-FEV1; maximal mid-expiratory flow-DEMM; peak flow-DP; maximal expiratory flow at 75-50-25% of vital capacity CV-DEMx) was studied in children of comparable age, sex and height (9 to 12 years) in a polluted zone (the exposed group n = 223) and a neighboring non-polluted zone (the control group n = 211) in the north of Lorraine. There was no significant difference in ventilatory function between the two groups. Amongst other factors capable of influencing the ventilatory function in the children we found an influence of parental smoking habits (particularly the mothers) identifiable in the non-exposed zone, above all in boys.

Arc welders' respiratory health evolution over five years.

The respiratory health of 138 arc welders and 106 control subjects in the same company was studied in 1981 and in 1986. Most of the subjects welded mild steel using the Metal Inert Gas (MIG) process. The controls were workers in the same company, not exposed to any known pulmonary risk.

Computerized single-breath nitrogen washout in children: variability and reproducibility.

The variability, short-term (1 hour) and long-term (2 weeks) reproducibility of the variables derived from the single-breath N2 test were evaluated in a group of 56 healthy children aged 10 to 16 years with a computerized system. The variability was low for vital capacity and total lung capacity (coefficient of variation less than 3%), moderate for residual volume and phase III N2 slope (9 and 13%) and very high for closing volume (more than 50%). A closing volume could not be identified by the computer algorithm in 18.

["Physiologic" aging in 5 years of pulmonary function in 140 iron miners].

Ageing of the lung function in 5 years was studied in a group of 140 iron-ore miners, aged initially from 36 to 55 years. These men had no respiratory symptom and no pulmonary radiological abnormality. The sample was stratified on age and smoking.