Assessment of lung function among urban station policemen

Background- Police officers are involved in difficult, stressful, demanding work. In addition to station duties they are also involved in patrolling, clearing traffics and crowd control and as such they are at risk of exposure to air pollution. So far, many pulmonary function studies have been done among traffic police personnel but since station police officer are also at risk of exposure to air pollution, this study was done to assess the pulmonary parameters of these police personnel. AimTo assess the pulmonary functional status of urban station police officers. Materials and methods- The present study was carried out in 50 station police men in the age group of 30-50 years, of Chennai city, using a computerized spirometer. The pulmonary parameters assessed were FVC, FEV1 and FEV1 FVC ratio. Their mean values (SD) were compared with their predicted values and their statistical significance analyzed by using unpaired t-test. Results- The mean value of FVC was 3.01L and the predictive value was 3.41 L. There is a significant decrease in the FVC value (P value less than 0.001) of urban station police officers compared to their predicted values. There was no significant change in FEV1FVC ratio. Conclusion- Based on the above pulmonary parameters it was concluded that the urban station police men showed restrictive pattern ( decreased FVC, normal FEV1FVC ratio) of lung disease.