Objective:

To determine the temporal variation in spirometric values according to the geographical altitude of labor location on a group of mining workers.

Material and methods:

A longitudinal study using spirometry values of workers taken several years at two locations, one at sea level and another at high altitude in the Peruvian highlands. The values of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and Tiffeneau index (FEV1/FVC) were used. It were analyzed with models that adjust for time (PA-GEE), with Gaussian family, identity link function and robust models, the time variable was the year of spirometry take. P value and coefficients were used in each case.

Results:

From 1349 records, 86% (1162) were male, the median age was 35 years (interquartile range: 22-66). In multivariate analysis we found that there was a variation in the values of FEV1 and FVC, these increased in men, among those with greater stature and operators, but decreased with increasing age of the worker. The Tiffeneau index decreased only according to age of the worker, adjusted for all variables.

Conclusions:

According to these data, the change in spirometric values is influenced by the socio-anthropometric variables and the type of work they do. This must be applied for monitoring of employees who are exposed to similar conditions, as part of occupational surveillance programs.

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