Respiratory symptoms related to flour dust exposure are significantly high among small and medium scale flour mill workers in Ethiopia: a comparative cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND@#International Labour Organization (ILO) report indicates more than 2.4 million workers die from work-related diseases and accidents each year. Work-related respiratory ailments related to airborne particulate matter such as flour dust are responsible for about 386,000 deaths and 6.6 million illness-adjusted life years. Even though exposure to flour dust together with the extreme expansions of flour mill sectors is a priority health concern, extent of the problem is little investigated in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the magnitude and risk factors of work-related respiratory symptoms among flour mill workers in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia.@*METHODS@#This study employed a comparative cross-sectional survey of 560 samples (280 exposed group from flour mill workers and 280 unexposed group from office workers) with a stratified random sampling technique. The study was conducted from March to April 2019 in Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia. We used the British Medical Research Council (BMRC) questionnaire to assess work-related respiratory symptoms. The questionnaire was pretested and interview administered to collect data. Binary logistic regression analysis was fitted to evaluate significant factors of respiratory symptoms at a < 0.05 p value. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a confidence interval (CI) of 95% was calculated to determine a strength of association.@*RESULTS@#All the sampled participants had fully responded to the interview. The median age of exposed and unexposed groups was 28.5 interquartile range (IQR, 20) and 31 (IQR, 15) years, respectively. The prevalence of work-related respiratory symptoms among flour mill workers was substantially higher than that of among controls, 63.9% and 20.7%, respectively (Χ@*CONCLUSION@#Respiratory symptoms emanating from exposure to various flour dusts were significantly higher among flour mill workers than among the control group. Therefore, we recommend the need to effectively implement health and safety programs that account for the reduction of dust at a source, use of engineering controls (e.g., provision of adequate ventilation systems), use of administrative measures (e.g., training program and health surveillance) and provision of a suitable personal protective equipment (PPE). Furthermore, it is vital to integrate workplace health and safety programs to the wider public health policies and strategies to effectively mitigate the burden of work-related respiratory conditions. We also encourage future studies to evaluate concentration of flour dusts combined with physical examinations to establish plausible associations of respiratory symptoms with dusts of flour mill-related origin.

Estudo qualitativo da perspectiva dos consumidores de farinha de mandioca (Manihot esculenta crantz) comercializada na feira livre das Sete Portas, Salvador, BA / A qualitative study of the consumers' perspective of manioc flour (Manihot esculenta crantz) marketed at the fair of the Sete Portas, Salvador, BA

A farinha de mandioca desempenha importante papel na alimentação do brasileiro. Produzida artesanalmente em casas de farinha, pode ser comercializada em feiras livres, porém, estas apresentam condições que podem favorecer a contaminação dos produtos comercializados, ocasionando malefícios para a saúde do consumidor. Este trabalho teve por objetivo identificar as características socioeconômicas, as práticas de aquisição e consumo, e a percepção de higiene e risco de 22 consumidores de farinha da feira das Sete Portas de Salvador, Brasil. É um estudo de caráter transversal, exploratório e descritivo com a aplicação de questionário semiestruturado, contendo 55 perguntas e contemplando 4 categorias: 1. Identificação e características socioeconômicas; 2. Comportamentos; 3. Opinião e conhecimentos e 4. Percepções sobre higiene e risco. A tabulação e o processamento dos dados referentes aos questionários foram realizados através dos Softwares EPIDATA, versão 3.1 e SPSS, versão 17.0, respectivamente. Os resultados mostraram que 54,5% dos entrevistados eram do sexo feminino, com faixa etária entre 25 e 68 anos e renda de um a três salários mínimos. A maioria (68,2%) consumia o produto diariamente, 50% observava o preço e 92,9% a qualidade na hora da aquisição. Observou-se ainda que mais de 70% preferiam farinha branca, fina e que 35,3% preferiam a bem torrada. Todos os entrevistados consumiam a farinha como complemento das refeições e como ingrediente de preparações. Segundo 68,2% dos entrevistados, havia riscos à saúde e de contaminação, principalmente por "sujeira" (66,7%) e poluição (53,3%). O estudo revelou predominância feminina com variação etária e econômica, um elevado consumo de farinha de mandioca e baixa importância dos aspectos higienicossanitários.