AVALIAÇÃO DO FILME LACRIMAL EM TRABALHADORES DE USINA DE AÇÚCAR E ÁLCOOL EM RUBIATABA - GO

Abstract

This is a study on the environmental impact on tear film in employees of a sugar and alcohol mill in Rubiataba GO. The aim of this study was to evaluate the tear film in employees of of a sugar and alcohol mill in Rubiataba GO. Tear film of 155 employees, working either inside the mill or in the field, female and male, with neither previous history of ocular nor usage of systemic or topical medication, was assessed. Following detailed anamnesis of each employee, tear ferning test, Schirmer s test, tear film break-up time (TFBUT), and rose Bengal staining were performed in the ocular region in two periods of the year (rain and dry seasons). Meteorological data were given by the Meteorological and Hydrological System of the State of Goias. Analysis of data were performed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software, version 15.0, by the Fisher s exact test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, McNemar test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results were analyzed in three steps. First, one group of patients with normal ophthalmic tests and another group of patients with altered results were compared, and the effects of sex, type of work and period of the year on the results were evaluated. There was no significant difference. A significant improvement in TFBUT was observed (P = 0.035) from May to September in 2009. In the second analysis, all ophthalmic tests results were gathered together. A significantly higher prevalence (P < 0.041) of symptoms was observed in May compared to September in 2009. Ocular symptoms were referred exclusively by employees in the mill. Both TFBUT (P < 0.001) and rose Bengal test (P < 0.014) improved significantly, while Schimmer s test became worse (P < 0.003) from May to September in 2009. However, these results had no clinical relevance. In the third analysis, a comparison between symptomatic and asymptomatic was performed; worse TFBUT (P < 0.001) and rose Bengal test (P < 0.001) results were found in symptomatic comparatively with asymptomatic subjects in both periods of the year. These results suggest that employees in the mill were probably more aware of their symptoms than those in the field, and that sugarcane burning throughout the year may cause tear film instability. Furthermore, employees in the mill may have used adequate personal protective equipment and, therefore, there was no difference between the two periods of year.