Academic Journal
Early respiratory effects of long-term cement dust exposure: association with exercise capacity in asymptomatic workers.
| Τίτλος: | Early respiratory effects of long-term cement dust exposure: association with exercise capacity in asymptomatic workers. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Pigakis K; Department of Respiratory Medicine, Creta InterClinic Hospital, Heraklion, Greece. k_pigakis@yahoo.gr.; Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Metropolitan College, Heraklion Campus, Heraklion, Greece. k_pigakis@yahoo.gr., Kontopodi A; Department of Respiratory Medicine, Creta InterClinic Hospital, Heraklion, Greece., Stavrou V; Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece., Philippou A; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. |
| Πηγή: | International archives of occupational and environmental health [Int Arch Occup Environ Health] 2026 Oct 17; Vol. 99 (9). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Oct 17. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Springer-Verlag Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 7512134 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1432-1246 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03400131 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int Arch Occup Environ Health Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Berlin, New York : Springer-Verlag. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Occupational Exposure*/adverse effects , Construction Materials*/adverse effects , Exercise Tolerance*/physiology , Occupational Diseases*/physiopathology , Dust*, Air Pollutants, Occupational/adverse effects ; Humans ; Adult ; Male ; Exercise Test ; Spirometry ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Respiratory Function Tests |
| Περίληψη: | Purpose: Long-term occupational exposure to cement dust is associated with respiratory disease, yet early subclinical impairment may not be detected using conventional spirometry. This study aimed to investigate small airway dysfunction (SAD) as an early marker of respiratory effects and its association with exercise capacity in asymptomatic cement workers. Methods: We studied 500 non-smoking, non-asthmatic, non-atopic cement industry workers aged 35 years or older, with at least 10 years of occupational exposure to cement dust. Participants underwent spirometry, static lung volume measurements, impulse oscillometry (IOS) and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). Workers with evidence of SAD were compared to those with normal small airway function. Results: Small airway dysfunction was identified in a subset of workers despite preserved spirometry. The SAD group exhibited a 19.4% reduction in VO Conclusions: Subclinical respiratory impairment may occur in a significant proportion of asymptomatic workers with long-term exposure to cement dust. SAD may serve as an early functional marker of occupational lung disease. Conventional spirometry underestimates the functional impact of exposure; therefore, sensitive techniques should be integrated into occupational surveillance for early detection and support preventive workplace strategies. (© 2026. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Ethical approval: The study protocol was approved by the Ethics and Bioethics Committee of Creta InterClinic Hospital (registry number: 129/16–08-2024). Informed consent: All participants provided written informed consent before enrollment, in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing; Cement dust; Exercise capacity; Occupational exposure; Pulmonary function tests; Small airway dysfunction |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Dust) 0 (Air Pollutants, Occupational) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20261018 Date Completed: 20261018 Latest Revision: 20261018 |
| Update Code: | 20261018 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00420-026-02247-x |
| PMID: | 42891814 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1432-1246 |
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| DOI: | 10.1007/s00420-026-02247-x |