120 Pulmon, Vol. 16, Issue 3, Sep - Dec 2014 Original Article Low Pulmonary Function in Petrol Pump Workers in Trivandrum City Gayatri B. Nair 1 , Nila Surendran 1 , Anjaly Mohan 1 , Sanjeev Nair 2 , Vijayakumar K. 3 , Anitha Kumari K. 2 1 MBBS Student, Government Medical College, Trivandrum 2 Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Government Medical College, Trivandrum 3 Department of Community Medicine, SMCSI Medical College, Trivandrum Correspondence : Gayatri B Nair, 186/A, Swathi Nagar 5, Pippinmoodu, Trivandrum - 695005 Key words : Petrol pump workers, Pulmonary function, Trivandrum, Kerala Abstract Background : Petrol pump employees are constantly exposed to petroleum vapours and vehicular exhaust. This causes various health problems, particularly in the lungs. Although studies have been conducted in other parts of the country on lung function in petrol pump workers, none have been published from Kerala. This study aims at determining whether these workers in Kerala have any abnormality in pulmonary function. Objective : To determine whether the pulmonary function (as measured by Forced Expiratory Volume in 6 seconds (FEV 6 )- % predicted, Forced expiratory volume in first second(FEV 1 )-%predicted and ratio of FEV 1 to FEV 6 (FEV 1 / FEV 6 ratio)) is different in petrol pump workers as compared to age-sex matched controls in Trivandrum. Method : Cross sectional study. Study population consisted of 30 petrol pump workers who have been working for more than one year and 30 age-sex matched individuals from various residential areas in Trivandrum. Height, weight, smoking index, history of asthma were recorded. The parameters, FEV 6 %-predicted, FEV 1 %-predicted and the FEV 1 /FEV 6 ratio were assessed using a handheld spirometer. The study was conducted from July to October 2013. Result : Petrol pump workers and controls selected from general population were comparable for height, weight, smoking index and history of asthma. The median values (with inter quartile range) of FEV 6 %-predicted in petrol pump workers and general population were 77.5(67-87) and 87(82-91) respectively; of FEV 1 %-predicted were 78 (66-88) and 86 (78.6-89.7) respectively and FEV 1 /FEV 6 % were 82.5 (80-87) and 82.5(79-86) respectively. The difference in the median FEV 1 %-predicted and FEV 6 %-predicted between petrol pump workers and general population were statistically significant. Proportion of Petrol pump workers with FEV 1 %-predicted and FEV 6 %-predicted below 80% and FEV 1 /FEV 6 % below 70% were higher and the difference in proportions was statistically significant. Conclusion : Petrol pump workers have a lower lung function in terms of FEV 1 %-predicted and FEV 6 %-predicted. The FEV 1 /FEV 6 ratio was not statistically significantly different between petrol pump workers and general population even though the proportion with a FEV 1 /FEV 6 ratio less than 70% was significantly higher in petrol pump workers.