Objective To assess the effect of exposure to ceramic dust on the prevalence of workers' respiratory symptoms.
Methods Original articles on ceramic dust and the prevalence of respiratory symptoms from 1990 to 2012 were retrieved via the VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, the China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database, the Wanfang Med Online, and the PubMed, according to a self-designed exclusion and inclusion criteria. A meta analysis including a sensitivity analysis were applied to assess the effect by calculating pooled OR (95%CI) for the exposed workers versus the controls.
Results Eight original studies were selected for the meta analysis, including a total of 812 controls and 1 372 cases, among which six were published in English and two in Chinese. The OR of presenting respiratory symptoms was 3.91 (95%CI:2.85-4.97) in the workers exposed to ceramic dust versus the selected controls. The results of sensitivity analysis showed Z=6.73, P<0.01; the results of Begg test showed Z=0.49, P=0.62; and the results of Egger test showed t=0.59, P=0.58 (95%CI:-1.38-2.26), indicating the results were stable and had no significant bias.
Conclusion Workers' respiratory symptoms are significantly induced by exposure to ceramic dust at work.
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