Introduction: Lung diseases due to occupational exposure form an important part of clinical medicine. Repeated exposure to wood dust inhalation causes an ill-health and increased morbidity. Exposure to these wood dusts  are known to affect the lungs especially, the hazard potential nature of the work is known, however, little attention is given to the state of cardiorespiratory endurance in the saw mill in Nigeria.

Objectives: This study assessed cardiorespiratory endurance of sawmill workers in Kano using   home step test and to compare the measured values with those of age-matched controls.

Material and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional survey. A total of one hundred and twenty participated. The study consists of sixty (60) non–smoking sawmill workers and sixty (60) non- smoking  individuals working in sachet water production companies in the same locality. They were matched for age, height, weight, and BMI respectively. The study groups were matched for age, height, weight, and BMI. All the participants were subjected to history taking and clinical examination to rule out any cardiorespiratory condition prior to the step test. In complement to that, the participants were screened for respiratory diseases using the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire. Queens’s College step test was used to assess the maximal oxygen uptake of the participants. All statistics were performed using SPSS version 20 at 0.05_α significance level

Results: The results showed a reduction in mean VO₂ max of sawmill workers compared to the control subjects (p<0.05), the mean heart rate (HR) was statistically higher among the sawmill workers compared to the group (p<0.05) and the rate pressure product (RPP) was also statistically higher among the sawmill workers compared to the group (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Cardio respiratory endurance was lower among the sawmill workers is  compared to the individuals whose occupation is not saw milling.