COMMUNITY RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS SURVEY AMONG RESIDENTS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A LANDFILL IN A TROPICAL RURAL AREA

Abstract

Controlled dumpsite without any liner, leachate treatment and engineered measures can emit landfill gases and hazardous air pollutants to the surrounding environment. This study was conducted to investigate self-reported respiratory symptoms among residents living within 2 km radius of Beris Lalang Landfill, Bachok, Kelantan. A total of 218 respondents aged between 18 and 65 years old were involved in this cross-sectional study from January to March 2019. The questionnaires were adopted from the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire and opted for the symptom score approach. Majority of the respondents were females (64.7 percent), non-smokers (85.3 percent), Malay (94.0 percent) and received tertiary education (43.6 percent). Respondents were reported to have higher proportions of sneezing, runny or blocked noses (35.8 percent) and coughing attack (36.7 percent) compared to the other respiratory symptoms. Associations were reported between respiratory symptoms with gender and exposure to tobacco smoke. Weak significant correlations were found between symptoms score with age of respondents and duration of living in the current home (p<0.05). This finding implied that proximity to dumpsites did not affect the respiratory symptoms of the communities living within 2 km radius of the dumpsite. This study provides initial evidence about reported symptoms in populations living near to a landfill as a baseline for future epidemiologic assessments towards sustainable health management.