Airways of traffic cops deployed at junctions more constricted: Study

Ahmedabad: Almost all the traffic police personnel serving at busy junctions in the city who were tested were found to have constriction of their air passage. The medical study was conducted by researchers from NHL Municipal Medical College who studied around 90 traffic personnel of both genders, 60 who were deputed at busy traffic junctions and and 30 who were handling back-end functions of the traffic department.The comparative study between the two sets of traffic police personnel lasted for 10 months, from October 2018 to August 2019, and the results were finally published in July.
The study involved performing at least seven different tests including the pulmonary function test, forced vital capacity of lungs study, forced expiratory volume (FEV) in first second, forced expiratory flow at 25-75% and 50% lung capacity. In all these, the 60 traffic policemen deployed at junctions showed constriction of air passageways.
Researchers from the department of physiology said their peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), which measures expiratory efforts of an individual, was significantly lower among the personnel deputed at junctions, an average of 3.44 litres, while those engaged in back-end work had an average expiratory flow rate of 5.53 litres.
Similarly, the personnel at junctions when it came to forced expiratory flow rate measured at 25-75% per second had an average reading of 2.23 litres, indicating small airway obstruction. The personnel in offices showed a value of 3.41 litres. The study found no major difference when it came to pulse rate and diastolic blood pressure.
The study was conducted by Dr Pranav Shukla, associate professor Dr Hina Mod, and head of the department of physiology Dr Anita Verma. “Our study suggests obstruction and narrowing of airways in the study group of traffic police personnel compared to the control group. It may be due to exposure to vehicle emissions for several hours a day, which decreases their lung capacity,” the study says.
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