PREVALENCE OF RESPIRATORY ILLNESS AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG FISHING TRAWLER WORKERS IN TAMIL NADU.

In India, an estimated half a billion people work in fishing-related jobs. Trawler fishermen are frequently exposed to long hours of fuel exhaust, but little is known about the adverse effects of this exposure. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of respiratory illness among Fishing Trawler workers and its association between the working environment quality. This crosssectional study was conducted from April 2021 to June 2021 among adults engaged in trawler fishing in Tamil Nadu using an interviewer administered semi structured questionnaire and the data was analysed using SPSS version 16. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was 81% and respiratory illness was 36.5% with signi?cance between years of working(p=<0.05), days a month worked(p=<0.05), hours of exposure(p=<0.05), history of smoking(p=<0.05) and air quality(p=0.05). Trawler fishermen's respiratory health may be compromised by fuel exhaust and exposure duration. More attention and surveillance of trawler fishermen's occupational health is required