Background: House paint workers are highly exposed to a mixture of substances as components of paints such as organic solvents, pigments and other additives. Inhalation of these materials during continues exposure may create serious health problems including respiratory disorders due to the toxic effect of paints materials. This study aimed to investigate the impact of house paint exposure on pulmonary function tests FVC, FEV1, FEV1%, FEV1/FVC%, PEF and ELA of male painters during different duration of exposure in Basrah City, South of Iraq.

Materials and method: Spirometery method was used to measure PFT of all individuals in the study who were divided within three groups depending on the duration of exposure to house paints: Group 1: 29 home paint workers who exposed to paints for more than 5 years. Group 2 consisted of 47 home paint workers who exposed to paint for less than 5 years. Group 3 is the control includes subjects who never expsed to paints.

Results: Data analysis revealed that there were significant differences in PFT among the three groups (p< 0.05). Group 1 showed high significant decline p< 0.0001 in the PFT, the result was attributed to the increased duration of paint exposure. Estimated lung age was significantly higher than real age in group 1 and 2, while there was no significant change in group 3. Several factors could work together, beside the toxic effect of chemical martials of paint to deteriorate PFT. In conclusion house paint exposure could result in respiratory impairment by affection on PFT. This impairment got worse by increasing duration of exposure. Spreading awareness and following occupational instructions to reduce duration of exposure and use suitable protective equipments are recommended to reduce the toxic effect of paints.