[Health impact of working conditions at the Ruashi mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo].
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the health impact of working conditions at the Ruashi mine in the Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo.


METHODS
A cross-sectional etiological study was conducted in two cohorts including 100 miners and 109 students. Data necessary to allow comparison disease symptoms in the two cohorts were collected using a questionnaire. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated. A secondary analysis was performed to compare different mine workstations, i.e., diggers (n=61) versus non-diggers (n=39). Two logistical regression models were used to estimate adjusted OR and 95% CI for the association between occupation/workstation and disease symptoms.


RESULTS
In comparison with students, miners exhibited higher frequencies for all symptoms even after adjustment. The highest ORs were observed for musculoskeletal disorders, i.e., low back pain (OR=36.5) and upper (OR = 20.7) or lower (OR = 18.3)] extremity pain. They were followed by respiratory disorders (OR = 5.91) and headache (OR = 5.34).


CONCLUSIONS
The high exposure frequencies and OR's observed in this study underline the negative health impact of mine working conditions. Further occupational study will be needed to obtain and compare more data.
Elenge Molayi
M
M
Unité de santé au travail et de toxicologie du milieu, Ecole de santé publique, Université Libre de Bruxelles. miyeleza_elenge@hotmail.com
Aubry
J C
JC
De Brouwer
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003371:Cough / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008906:Mining; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult