Eyestrain in Working Children of Footwear Making Units of Agra, India.

Children of footwear making units are working in the soling process. The process includes fixing of upper part with the sole of the footwear. The adhesives contain a mix of organic solvents, which are released in the working environment and cause irritation and lacrimation of eyes. In addition poor illumination and ventilation further aggravates the eyestrain. The present study was carried out to find out the prevalence and the associated factors of eyestrain in working children of footwear making units. The study included 139 exposed and 160 comparison group subjects. Self-reported eyestrain was recorded through personal interview. The prevalence of eyestrain in child laborers was 25.9%, which was significantly more than the 12.4% prevalence in comparison group subjects (P=0.01). Working children of footwear making units were at 2.4 times higher risk of developing eyestrain as compared to comparison group subjects, though statistically non significant. Significantly higher proportion of eyestrain was reported in those aged >12 years, males and those working daily for >4 hours. The higher prevalence of eyestrain in the working children of footwear units may be attributed to exposure to workplace factors.

Hypertension and epidemiological factors among tribal labour population in Gujarat.

A cross sectional study was carried out in 2005 to find out the magnitude of hypertension among 154 tribal labourers of Gujarat belonging to Naika, Rathwa and Damor tribes. WHO classification of hypertension was taken as operational criteria and data was collected in pre-designed, pretested schedule. Blood pressure measurement was done twice on each subject using mercury sphygmomanometer. Overall magnitude of hypertension was found to be 16.9%, and only smoking was found to have significantly associated with it.

Injury pattern among non-fatal road traffic accident cases: a cross-sectional study in Central India.

RESEARCH QUESTION: What is the pattern of injuries among non-fatal cases of road traffic accidents? OBJECTIVE: To study the pattern of injuries among non-fatal cases of road traffic accidents. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Nagpur, a city in central India. PARTICIPANTS: 423 non-fatal cases of road traffic accidents reporting for treatment to Indira Gandhi Medical College, Nagpur during 1999-2000. STUDY VARIABLES: Demographic characteristics, accident characteristics. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Percentages, proportions, Chi-square test. RESULTS: Out of total 423 subjects, 363 (85.8%) were male while only 60 (14.2%) were female subjects. Majority of the victims (75%) were in the age group 18- 37 years. Sideways collision was the most common type of accident seen in 269 (63.59%) cases. Two wheelers and LMV were the common vehicle being involved in accidents (69.97%) and these accidents were almost equally distributed in both half of the day. Fracture of the bones was the common injury afflicted to the victims followed by multiple injuries like blunt injury, abrasions and lacerations. Lower extremity was involved in 192 (45.39%) cases while multiple sites were affected in 114 (26.95%) cases. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, the fractures were the commonest injury among the victims of non-fatal road traffic accidents.

Serum copper levels among quartz stone crushing workers: a cross sectional study.

The present cross sectional study was carried out among 134 workers of quartz stone crushing units to assess the serum Cu activity among quartz stone workers without disease. Demographic and occupational details of the subjects were recorded on the predesigned proforma. Standard diagnostic criteria were used for diagnosing silicosis and tuberculosis. The pulmonary functions of the subjects were measured using Spirovit SP-10. The mean age for male was found to be 26.63 +/- 6.28 years while that for female was 21.93 +/- 4.29 years and for the whole group was 26.13 +/- 6.26 years. In the present study only one case of silicosis and seven cases of tuberculosis were found. The mean serum Cu levels of those having respiratory disease was found to be 91.5 +/- 19.8 microg/dl while mean serum Cu level of those free from respiratory disease was 86.8 +/- 21.3 microg/dl The difference was found to be statistically non-significant (t = 0.64, df= 1, P > 0.05). Thus, in the present study, though the elevated level of serum Cu was found in solitary case of silicosis, no association could be established between the silica exposure and serum copper levels as suggested by non-significant effect of duration of exposure (P = 0.53).