Few studies have assessed respiratory symptoms and dust exposureudlevels in small-scale wood industry workers in Africa. We interviewedud546 workers exposed to wood dust and 565 control subjects using audrespiratory health questionnaire. Inhalable dust measurements wereudcollected for 106 workers. The dust exposure was high, and jobudtitle–based geometric mean exposure levels ranged from 2.9 to 22.8udmg/m3ud. Prevalence of respiratory symptoms in the previous 12 monthsudwas significantly higher in the exposed group compared with theudnonexposed office workers. Allergy and sensitivity symptoms wereudreported regularly in the exposed group with Odds ratios and 95%udconfidence intervals (CIs) varying from 2.4 (95% CI 1.8–3.1) forudlow-and 2.7 (1.8–4.0) for high-exposure groups compared with controls.udWe conclude that working in the small-scale wood industry inudTanzania is associated with an increased prevalence of respiratoryudsymptoms. (
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