Respiratory Health Problems Among the Ceramic Workers in Dhaka,.
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Date
2014-01
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Abstract
Ceramic factory workers are potentially at risk to develop occupational respiratory diseases due to chronic inhalation
of dust particles generated in the ceramic factory. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out to assess the
respiratory and other health problems among the workers of Mirpur Ceramic Works Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh
during the period of April to June, 2011. Among 200 participants, 132 (66%) were males and 68 (34%) were females.
Less than one-third of the workers were habituated to use personal protective equipments (PPE), while more than
two-third were not habituated. Nearly half (45.5%) of the workers were suffering from at least one respiratory
problem and of them 86.8% (P = 0.001) had problems after joining the factory. Of the respiratory sufferers 27% had
chronic bronchitis, 20% bronchial asthma, 1% pulmonary tuberculosis, and 0.5% had silicosis. A significant numbers
(60.5%) of workers were suffering from other health problems along with or without respiratory problems, in terms
of musculoskeletal pain, back pain, headache, dermatitis, anaemia and fever. The prevalence of respiratory problems
was significantly higher among non-users of PPE than PPE users (P = 0.006), and it was found to be higher with the
increased of job duration. The study showed the notable higher prevalence of respiratory problems among the
workers exposed to ceramic dust, although the other potential environmental confounding factors could not be ruled
out in the analysis. Obligatory use of PPE by all workers and health education to increase awareness among the
workers might have role to reduce the prevalence.
Description
Keywords
Respiratory problem, Ceramic dust, Ceramic workers, Bangladesh
Citation
Alim M A, Biswas M K, Biswas G, Hossain M A, Ahmad S A. Respiratory Health Problems Among the Ceramic Workers in Dhaka. Faridpur Medical College Journal. 2014 Jan; 9(1): 19-23.