Prevalence of respiratory symptoms in industrial workers

The study was conducted in Vietnam among 1,228 workers (836 steel workers and 392 ceramic tile workers) to investigate the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among workers. The study used a screening questionnaire for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the community based on the «Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of ChronicObstructive Pulmonary Disease» provided by the Ministry of Health. The results showed that the proportion of workers at risk of COPD was 8,6% (9,7% among steel workers and 6,4% among ceramic tile workers). The risk of COPD tends to increase with age and length of service. Among those at risk of COPD, the levels of exposure to dust, toxic fumes, and smoking were 10,2%, 11,6%, and 51,8% among steel workers and 7,2%, 9,9%, and 36,0% among ceramic tile workers. The environmental factors to which the workers