Prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Cotton Mill Industries Workers of the Miraj Taluka.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a preventable and treatable disease state characterised by progressive airflow limitation that is not fully reversible.It includes two main conditions-1. Emphysema 2. Chronic bronchitis. These are associated with fixed airway obstruction. Patients with COPD complaints of breathlessness,chest tightness, generalized weakness, fever & cough (with expectorations). Materials & Methodology: Both male and female workers from cotton mill industries of Miraj Taluka who were aged between 35-45 were included in this study. Data was collected using COPD Assessment test (CAT) and PEFR. Results: There were 54.17% workers who had a no obstruction with low impact of disease, 30% workers showed mild obstruction with moderate impact of disease, 15.83% workers showed moderate obstruction and high impact of COPD, and there were no workers who had severe obstruction of the airways. p value=0.1437 Conclusion: This study concluded that cotton mill industries of Miraj taluka showed that there were 54.17% of workers with no obstruction of airways. There were prevalence of mild obstruction of COPD in 30% of workers, moderate obstruction of COPD in the 15.83% of workers, also there were no workers with severe obstruction of COPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]