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Background - Gas station attendants are exposed to benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX) from fuels. The aim was to study the association between this exposure and spirometry parameters in gas station attendants and office workers as controls.Method – In 44 male gas station attendants and 38 office workers in the Gampaha district of Sri Lanka spirometry was performed according to the guidelines of the American Thoracic Society (ATS). Pre- and post-shift end-exhaled air samples were collected from a subset of both study groups and analysed for BTX by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.Results – Among gas station attendants (n = 20) median pre-/post-shift exhaled air concentrations (ng/L) were: benzene 11.23/21.05; toluene 10.39/22.19; m/p-xylene 1.62/2.45; o-xylene 1.01/1.45. For controls (n = 11) these values were (ng/L): 9.47/12.04, 3.13/4.00, 1.52/1.25 and 0.50/0.48, respectively. The peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and %-predicted PEFR were significantly lower among gas station attendants compared to controls (p 1/FVC ratio were not different but in gas station attendants benzene in post-shift samples was associated with %-predicted FVC (Spearman’s correlation coefficient of -0.469, p = 0.037). In addition, the %-predicted FVC was lower in gas station attendants working ≥ 5 years compared to those who worked

Background Data on alcoholic fatty liver (AFL) is limited. We investigated patterns of alcohol use and AFL, among urban, adult, Sri Lankans. Methods The study population (selected by age-stratified random sampling) was screened in 2007 (35–64 years) and re-evaluated in 2014. On both occasions they were assessed by structured-interview, anthropometric measurements, liver-ultrasound, biochemical and serological tests. AFL was diagnosed on ultrasound criteria, ‘unsafe’ alcohol consumption (Asian standards: males > 14units, females > 7units per-week) and absence of hepatitis B/C markers. Controls were unsafe alcohol consumers who had no fatty liver on ultrasound. Results 2985/3012 (99%) had complete data for analysis. 272/2985 (9.1%) were unsafe-drinkers in 2007 [males-270; mean-age-51.9, SD-8.0 years]. 86/272 (31.6%) had AFL [males-85; mean-age-50.2, SD-8.6 years]. Males [p 23kg/m2 [OR 3.5, p