Introduction

Over 8500 United States Coast Guard (USCG) personnel were deployed in response to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill; however, human respiratory effects as a result of spill-related exposures are relatively unknown.

Methods

USCG personnel who responded to the DWH oil spill were queried via survey on exposures to crude oil and oil dispersant, and acute respiratory symptoms experienced during deployment. Adjusted log binomial regressions were used to calculate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), investigating the associations between oil spill exposures and respiratory symptoms.

Results

4855 USCG personnel completed the survey. More than half (54.6%) and almost one-fourth (22.0%) of responders were exposed to crude oil and oil dispersants, respectively. Coughing was the most prevalent symptom (19.4%), followed by shortness of breath (5.5%), and wheezing (3.6%). Adjusted analyses showed an exposure-response relationship between increasing deployment duration and likelihood of coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing in the pre-capping period. A similar pattern was observed in the post-capping period for coughing and wheezing. Adjusted analyses revealed increased PRs for coughing (PR=1.92), shortness of breath (PR=2.60), and wheezing (PR=2.68) for any oil exposure. Increasing frequency of inhalation of oil was associated with increased likelihood of all three respiratory symptoms. A similar pattern was observed for contact with oil dispersants for coughing and shortness of breath. The combination of both oil and oil dispersants presented associations that were much greater in magnitude than oil alone for coughing (PR=2.72), shortness of breath (PR=4.65), and wheezing (PR=5.06).

Conclusions

Results from the present study suggested strong relationships between oil and oil dispersant exposures and acute respiratory symptoms among disaster responders. Future prospective studies will be needed to confirm these findings.

中文翻译：

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深水地平线漏油海岸警卫队队列研究：急性呼吸道健康症状的横断面研究

介绍

超过 8500 名美国海岸警卫队 (USCG) 人员被部署应对深水地平线 (DWH) 漏油事件；然而，与泄漏相关的接触对人类呼吸系统的影响相对未知。

方法

应对 DWH 漏油事故的美国海岸警卫队人员接受了关于原油和石油分散剂暴露情况以及部署期间出现的急性呼吸道症状的调查。调整后的对数二项式回归用于计算患病率 (PR) 和 95% 置信区间 (CI)，研究溢油暴露与呼吸道症状之间的关联。

结果

4855 名美国海岸警卫队人员完成了调查。超过一半 (54.6%) 和近四分之一 (22.0%) 的受访者分别接触过原油和油分散剂。咳嗽是最常见的症状（19.4%），其次是呼吸短促（5.5%）和喘息（3.6%）。调整后的分析显示，增加部署持续时间与预加盖期间咳嗽、呼吸短促和喘息的可能性之间存在暴露-反应关系。在封盖后的咳嗽和喘息期间观察到类似的模式。调整后的分析显示，任何接触油的情况下，咳嗽 (PR=1.92)、呼吸短促 (PR=2.60) 和喘息 (PR=2.68) 的 PR 都会增加。吸入油的频率增加与所有三种呼吸道症状的可能性增加有关。接触油分散剂后出现咳嗽和呼吸急促也观察到类似的情况。油和油分散剂的组合与咳嗽 (PR=2.72)、呼吸短促 (PR=4.65) 和喘息 (PR=5.06) 的关联程度比单独使用油大得多。

结论

本研究的结果表明，石油和石油分散剂暴露与救灾人员的急性呼吸道症状之间存在密切关系。未来需要前瞻性研究来证实这些发现。