In the past decade, studies from Turkey and China
have shown that dust levels above the recommended
values are associated with a high prevalence of
respiratory problems (Altin et al., 2002; Christiani et al.,
2001). The risk factors identified in our study such as
working in the scouring, spinning and weaving sections,
long exposure and heavy smoking have been reported by
others as well. A study from France showed an OR of 7.3
for an exposure of 20 years compared to an OR of 2.8 for
an exposure of 10 years in our study, as the period of
exposure had direct relation with respiratory problems.