Effect of chronic formaldehyde exposure on some pulmonary functions among medical students in a tertiary institution in Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The effect of formaldehyde exposure on some pulmonary functions among medical students in a tertiary institution in Edo State, Nigeria was studied.

Materials and Methods: 150 subjects were studied which was divided into three groups A, B, and C with 50 subjects in each group. Group A served as control with nil exposure while groups B and C served as the test groups with 0-9 months exposure and 10-18 months exposure respectively. The pulmonary functions measured included Respiratory Rate, Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV₁), FEV₁/FVC ratio, Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) and Forced Expiratory Flow (FEF_25-75) and these were obtained with the aid of a digital spirometer. Test results were given as measured values in litres and as percentages of predicted values. Statistical analysis was done using Graph Pad Prism version 5.0. Results were presented as Mean ± SEM. Analysis of Variance was used to compare the means of test and control values while post hoc test was done using Student Newman Keul’s test and a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Results: Results showed significant decrease in FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC, PEFR and FEF_25-75. However, there was a significant increase in Respiratory Rate.

Conclusion: It was therefore concluded that exposure to formaldehyde has deleterious effects on the respiratory health of medical students.