Factors associated with chronic bronchitis among municipal sanitary workers in Varanasi, India

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Sanitary workers are exposed to a number of morbidities, including musculoskeletal disorder, gastrointestinal problems, skin problems, eye problems and lung disease, etc. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of chronic bronchitis among sanitary workers and to identify the risk factors associated with it. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study designed to investigate the factors related to the development of chronic bronchitis among sanitary workers in the city of Varanasi. A total of 11 census wards were selected, two being from the ghat areas, two from the non-ghat areas and seven from the core city by using the probability proportional to size sampling technique. All sanitary workers working in the selected census wards were respondents for this study. The total sample size was 316. CSPro 6.1 was used for data entry and SPSS 22 was used for data analysis. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression analysis were used to determine the association of the risk factors with chronic bronchitis. Results: The result from the analysis indicates that the overall prevalence of chronic bronchitis was 20%, whereas it was 9, 19 and 32% in the age groups of less than or equal to 30, 31-44 and 45 years and above respectively. Sewage workers had a greater risk of chronic bronchitis as compared to waste collectors and drivers. Smokers and workers with poor health showed a higher risk as compared to non-smokers and healthy workers. Conclusion: The study concludes that chronic bronchitis is highly associated with age and type of workers and also slightly associated with gender, tobacco use and health condition.