Abstract

Background: Personnel deployed at urban traffic intersections sustain prolonged occupational exposure to vehicular emissions, yet the ventilatory consequences of this exposure remain incompletely characterised in the Indian setting. This study examined pulmonary function in traffic personnel relative to matched controls and assessed whether impairment varies with duration of posting. Methods: Two hundred and ten male traffic personnel and 210 controls, matched for age, height and smoking status, underwent spirometry conforming to American Thoracic Society standards. Respiratory symptoms were elicited using a structured questionnaire. Comparisons employed Welch t-testing and chisquare analysis, and exposure duration was examined by analysis of variance and linear regression. Results: Traffic personnel demonstrated significantly lower FEV1, FEV1/FVC ratio, peak expiratory flow and mid-expiratory flow than controls, the largest standardised deficits affecting flow-dependent indices. An obstructive pattern was identified in 24.3% of traffic personnel against 11.4% of controls. FEV1 percent predicted declined progressively across exposure strata and correlated inversely with duration of posting. Every respiratory symptom examined was more prevalent among traffic personnel. Conclusion: Occupational exposure at traffic intersections is associated with measurable ventilatory impairment of predominantly obstructive character that worsens with cumulative exposure, and this warrants periodic surveillance and enforced provision of respiratory protection.

Keywords: Traffic personnel, Occupational exposure, Vehicular emissions, Spirometry, Forced expiratory volume, Airflow obstruction, Respiratory surveillance