Pulmonary Reaction to Grain Dust and its Constituents

A sample of grain workers (n = 310) underwent an epidemiologic study to determine the effects of cigarette smoking and exposure to grain dust on respiratory function. A group of outside city workers (n = 239) of comparable sex, age, height, weight, and smoking habits was used as a control. Respiratory symptoms occurred more often among grain handlers than controls and more among smokers than nonsmokers in both groups. Analysis of the data indicated that smoking and grain handling were both significant for the prevalence of symptoms, but that each factor was independent and not interacting synergistically with the other. Results suggested that the effect of smoking on lung function was generally greater than that of grain handling.