Respiratory disorders, skin complaints, and low-back trouble among tannery workers in Kanpur, India.
In a cross-sectional survey health complaints among 418 laborers in 15 Indian tanneries were studied. Low-back pain (61%), asthma (38%), dermatitis (23%), and chronic bronchitis (14%) were the most frequently reported complaints in the 12 months prior to the survey. In general, beamhouse workers reported the highest prevalence but only chronic low-back pain was significantly elevated compared with workers in the finishing departments. When using individual exposure estimates, clear associations were presented among manual lifting over 20 kg and low-back pain (OR = 3.5) and skin exposure and dermatitis (OR = 2.6). Frequent lifting of loads was also associated with self-reported asthma. About 44% of the laborers reported at least one period of sickness absence, and 17% were involved in a serious occupational accident that required a visit to the local physician. Logistic regression analysis showed that sickness absence occurred more often in small tanneries (OR = 2.7) and also was significantly associated with low-back pain (OR = 3.3) and occupational accidents (OR = 2.2). This epidemiologic survey on health complaints in tannery workers is among the few in occupational populations in low-income countries. For many reasons these populations are easily overlooked. The results of this descriptive study indicate that there is a clear need for epidemiologic surveys in these countries to obtain information on working conditions and associated health problems.
Ory
F G
FG
Directorate General, International Cooperation/Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague, The Netherlands.
Rahman
F U
FU
Katagade
V
V
Shukla
A
A
Burdorf
A
A
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D009783:Dermatitis, Occupational / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006804:Ergonomics; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012307:Risk Factors; D013633:Tanning