title: Respiratory function and chemical exposures among female hairdressers in Palestine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hairdressers are exposed to chemicals and work tasks that may cause respiratory symptoms. There is little awareness of occupational health among hairdressing salons in Palestine.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To characterize respiratory symptoms, lung function, and knowledge of exposure to hazards among female Palestinian hairdressers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study of female hairdressers and controls of female university students and staff. Working history and respiratory symptoms were collected using questionnaire. Lung function was measured. Working conditions were characterized in salons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 170 hairdressers from 56 salons and 170 controls participated. Nineteen per cent of the hairdressers reported wheezing versus 11% in the control group. The mean forced vital capacity was 3.31 l compared with 3.42 l for controls. Adjusting for age and height, there was a forced expiratory volume in 1 s reduction of 0.093 l (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.06-0.15) comparing hairdressers with controls. A small number of hairdressers used respiratory protective equipment, and satisfactory ventilation in salons were lacking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Female hairdressers had higher prevalence of reported asthma and respiratory symptoms than the controls, but these differences reduced markedly when adjusted for age, height, weight and years of education. They had lower lung function measurements than the control group. Increasing the awareness of occupational health hazards and improving the work conditions for the hairdressers in Palestine is needed. Possible bias could be present as hairdressers might have over reported symptoms or lung function measurements might be affected by differences in socioeconomic status between the two groups.
authors.affiliation: Section for Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. maysa.nemer@gmail.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nemer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kristensen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nijem
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bjertness
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skogstad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018912:Arabs; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001461:Barbering; D001505:Beauty Culture; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008877:Middle East / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009790:Occupations; D015995:Prevalence; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014797:Vital Capacity
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances