Prevalence of respiratory morbidity among brick kiln workers: a cross sectional study from rural north India

Background: Fired clay bricks, an important construction material, are manufactured in non-mechanized, labour intensive brick kilns which mostly employ unskilled men and women. The workers, as an occupational hazard, are exposed to dust and air pollution leading to respiratory diseases.Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted among brick kiln workers in RS Pura block of Jammu district. The workers were assessed regarding respiratory symptoms and illnesses using translated version of American Thoracic Society Division of Lung Disease questionnaire (ATS-DLD-78A).Results: 692 brick kiln workers were interviewed during the course of survey and 58.8%of them were males. 45% of the respondents were working since last less than three years. Among the respiratory symptoms chronic cough, was present in 23.55% and phlegm in 22.83% of the respondents. Chronic bronchitis was present in 20.52% of the respondents. Association of respiratory symptoms in relation to sex of the respondents was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusions: Respiratory symptoms and illness were found to be quite prevalent in the brick kiln workers. More research needs to be conducted to assess other health risks besides respiratory morbidity. Health planners need to plan for their basic sanitation facilities and periodic check ups.

Morbidity Profile of Rural Geriatric Population in North India: A Community Based Cross-sectional Study.

The current cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of on eyear. Eight villages were chosen from Miran Sahib zone of R.S Pura block using simple random sampling. A pre-designed, pre-structured and validated questionnaire was applied to all persons aged ?60 Years. A total of 418 subjects (191 males and 227 females) comprised the study population.64.40% of the respondents belonged to 60-69 year age group. Among the morbidity distribution in the study population, visual impairment (54.06%) was the most common, followed by hypertension (35.89%), arthritis (34.21%), diabetes mellitus (12.92%) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (5.50%). COPD was higher in males and arthritis was higher in females and the gender disease association was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). The results have shown high morbidity in the study population especially of visual impairment and cardio-vascular diseases. Respiratory diseases especially COPD morbidity was higher in males, while arthritis morbidity was more in females.