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Chronic respiratory diseases and their effect on physical performance and frailty: a workplace-based comparative cross-sectional study among male dairy workers in Pakistan

bmjopen · 2025-11-19 · canonical JSON source

6 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Objective To explore how chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) affect lung health, mobility, frailty and activity levels among young to middle-aged male dairy workers.Methodology This cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2023 to February 2024 across 17 dairy farms in Punjab, Pakistan, involving 380 male dairy workers aged 25–40 years.Participants were grouped by respiratory health status (chronic respiratory conditions vs healthy workers). Assessments included spirometry (forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV₁/FVC), functional tests (6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT), Timed Up and Go (TUG)), FRAIL (Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illnesses and Loss of weight) questionnaire and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form for physical activity. Body mass index was calculated from anthropometric data. Data were analysed using t-tests, χ² tests, correlations and regression; a p<0.05 was considered significant.Results Of the 380 male dairy workers enrolled, 365 were included in the final analysis (180 with respiratory conditions, 185 without respiratory conditions). Group A (workers with CRDs, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis and occupational asthma) demonstrated significantly poorer outcomes compared with group B. Specifically, lung function was markedly reduced in group A (FEV₁: 62.9% vs 91.5%, p=0.002). Functional performance was also impaired, as shown by shorter 6MWT distances (390.7 m vs 479.6 m, p=0.009) and slower TUG times (10.3 s vs 7.7 s, p=0.005). Frailty was almost four times more common in workers with CRDs than in those without (38.9% vs 10.8%, p=0.001). Likewise, low physical activity was substantially higher among workers with respiratory conditions (45.6% vs 10.3%), whereas high activity levels were predominantly observed in those without respiratory conditions (58.9% vs 16.1%). Regression analysis further identified FEV₁, age, frailty status and presence of a respiratory disease as significant predictors of functional capacity.Conclusions CRDs among male dairy workers are associated with impaired lung function, decreased physical performance, lower physical activity levels and higher frailty.