Respiratory and irritant health effects in tollbooth collectors in Taiwan.
Toll collectors are potentially exposed to high concentrations of a variety of automotive emissions. The purpose of this study is to assess if there is an excess of adverse health outcomes among toll collectors. Self-reported chronic respiratory symptoms and acute irritative symptoms were assessed in a cross-sectional study among 363 toll collectors (exposure group) and 147 office workers (control group). The prevalence rates for chronic respiratory symptoms were not significantly different between the exposure group and the control group. This could be related to the short length of employment for the toll collectors. Another likely explanation for not detecting apparent respiratory effects might be that symptomatic workers drop out of this work a few years after starting the job. Acute irritative symptoms (nose, throat, nausea, and headache), however, were significantly more common among the toll collectors than among the controls.
Yang
Chun-Yuh
CY
School of Public Health, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan.
Chen
Yu-Fu
YF
Chuang
Hung-Yi
HY
Cheng
Bi-Hua
BH
Sung
Fung-Chang
FC
Wu
Trong-Neng
TN
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009325:Nausea / Q000209:etiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D015995:Prevalence; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D013624:Taiwan; D014186:Transportation; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017132:Workplace
D001335:Vehicle Emissions