Respiratory illness in the construction industry. Airflow obstruction among painters.

To assess the potential respiratory effects of exposure to paint products, the pulmonary function of 118 construction painters was compared to construction workers unexposed to paints (314 sheet metal workers). When compared to sheet metal workers, painters reported significant excess symptoms of cough (p less than 0.05), wheezing (p less than 0.001), and dyspnea (p less than 0.0001). Nonsmoking painters working at least 15 years in the trade had significant decrements in percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (%FEV1)(p less than 0.025) and in the percent predicted ratio of the forced expiratory volume in one second to the forced vital capacity (%FVC1/FVC) (p less than 0.025). Current smoking painters working less than 15 years in the trade demonstrated significant decrements in %FEV1 (p less than 0.05) and %FEV1/FVC (p less than 0.05). Restricting the analysis to painters, and controlling for smoking, we observed a significant relationship between years of exposure to paint products and airflow obstruction. Painters may be at risk for developing airflow obstruction and these changes appear to be related to the duration of exposure to paint products. Painters who smoke may be at risk of developing this obstructive process earlier than nonsmokers.