Assessment of the prevalence of Respiratory Symptoms among the Workers of Automobile Industry

Objective: To assess the prevalence of respiratory system symptoms among the workers of automobile industry who are frequently exposed to hazardous chemical agent and dust. Study Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Place and Duration of Study:  Nishtar Hospital Multan, Bahawal Victoria hospital Bahawalpur. from August 2018 to March 2019. Methodology: Sixty eight participants of which 34 were exposed and 34 were non-exposed workers of an automobile factory were selected. Age, BMI, smoking history, lung functions including FEV 1 , FVC, FEV1/FVC, PEF, PEF 25-75 and VC before and after the work shift, symptoms including dry throat, runny nose, headache, fatigue, cough, phlegm, dyspnea, and wheeze; and chest tightness were compared between the cases and controls. Independent t-test, paired t-test and chi-square tests were applied. Data was analyzed with SPSS v.23.0 after considering p<0.05 statistically significant. Results: FEV 1 , PEF, and VC were significantly decreased in the exposed workers as compared those who were not exposed (p-value <0.001, <0.001 and 0.001, respectively). The decrease in FVC and FEV1/FVC and FEV1/VC ratio was also significant (p-value 0.011, 0.002 and 0.048, respectively). Dry throat, runny nose and fatigue were significantly more in cases (p-value 0.022, 0.016 and 0.018, respectively). Cough, phlegm, wheeze, and dyspnea; and chest tightness were more prevalent in the cases (p-value 0.015, <0.001, 0.001, <0.001 and 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Decline in lung functions and prevalence of respiratory symptoms were significant in the workers exposed to dust and BTEX warranting the performance of lung function tests before and after the employment for the identification of the sensitive personnel. Keywords: automobile factories, respiratory symptoms, prevalence. DOI: 10.7176/JMPB/65-07 Publication date: April 30 th 2020