Prevalence of pulmonary function impairment among the stone quarry workers of Sylhet region

Background: Stone Quarry is an unorganized sector that involves various processes that produce dust particles of silica and heavy metals.Inhalation of these dust particulates causes serious respirational difficulties.Respiratory problem is one of the major health hazards in dust-exposed workers; it is a major cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world.Materials and methods: This study was a cross-sectional observational study.The study was carried out in the stone quarries of Companiganj and Gowainghat Upozilla, Sylhet during the time period of 1 st March, 2022 to 29 th February, 2023.Workers in the age range of 25 years to 65 years and those who have been working for at least five years in the quarry were included in the analysis.Convenient sampling method was used to recruit the required number of respondents in the study.Results: Total 200 participant with the age range of 25 to 65 years were included in the analysis with the mean age of 45.57(SD ± 11.48) years.Among male and female, 65.5% (n=131) were male and 34.5% (n=69) were female.Among the quarry workers, 53% were smoker and 47% were non-smoker.Among the different service length 59% have a service length of 5-10 years, 21.5% and 19.5% have more than 10-15years & >15 years respectively.Among the 200 workers, 39% (n=78) were diagnosed as non-reversible obstruction (NR) that is COPD and 5.5% (n=11) have reversible obstruction.Restrictive pattern was found in 18% (n=36) and 37.5% (n=75) has normal lung function.Conclusion: Chronic exposure to dust in stone crushing Industry may increase the risk of respiratory problems and impaired lung function; cigarette smokers, long duration of daily exposure and non-usage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are at higher risk.