A Cohort Study on Respiratory Symptoms and Diseases Caused by Toner-Handling Work: Longitudinal Analyses from 2003 to 2013

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of toner-handling work on respiratory symptoms and diseases. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 1468 workers between 2003 and 2013. The cohort included 887 toner-handling workers and 581 non-toner-handling workers, employed in one toner and copier manufacturing enterprise. Toner-handling workers were subdivided into two groups based on the 8-h time-weighted average toner exposure concentration for each work category in the baseline survey. We compared the incidence of respiratory disease and longitudinal changes in the prevalence of subjective respiratory symptoms among three groups, as follows: High-concentration toner exposure group, the low-concentration toner exposure group, and a control group. The incidence of respiratory disease and changes in the prevalence of subjective respiratory symptoms were similar between the non-toner-handling group and the toner-handling group. In contrast, the odds ratio for yearly changes in the prevalence of wheezing without asthmatic response was significantly lower in the high-concentration toner exposure group than in the control group. At the study site, dust scattering was well controlled and workers used respiratory protection appropriately. These findings suggest that toner-handling work had little adverse effect on respiratory function in a work environment with sufficiently controlled ventilation.

Keywords

• workplace air environment
• occupational health
• respiratory effects
• toner dust
• printer
• cohort study