Respiratory Symptoms, Bronchitis, and Ventilatory Capacity in Random Sample of an Agricultural Population

作者：I. T. T. Higgins · 发表于：BMJ · 年份：1957 · DOI：10.1136/bmj.2.5055.1198 · 被引用次数：149 · 研究领域：Respiratory viral infections research、Agriculture and Farm Safety

Measurement of disease in industry necessitates suitable controls.A comparison of miners and ex-miners,with non-miners of similar age living in the same neighbour- hood has been made (Higgins et al., 1956).In that com- parison it is possible that our controls may have been affected by the industrial environment of the mining community to some extent, and accordingly any deleter- ious effect of mining on health may have been under- estimated.We have tried to assess the importance of the environment by studying an agricultural community.This paper gives an account of a survey of respiratory symptoms in a random sample of the inhabitants of the Vale of Glamorgan.The Vale of Glamorgan is an undulating plain, about 200 feet (60 metres) above sea level, of unspoilt agricultural land lying 15 miles (24 km.) west of Cardiff, between the South Wales coalfield in the north and the Bristol Channel in the south.The rainfall is about 40 inches (1 metre) per annum and the average temperatures for January and June are 41 and 58° F. (5 and 14.4° C.) respectively.The area is exceptionally free from atmo- spheric pollution, and only the strip bordering the coast is subject to winter mists.During the summer of 1955 Cochrane conducted a survey of the population living in a geographically defined area of the Vale (Cochrane et al., 1956).This area was approximately 55 square miles (142squarekm.),with a density of 0.5 person per acre (0.2 person per bectare) (General Register Office, 1954).A privat...