Cardio-Respiratory Function Among Female Mobile Food Vendors At Agbogbloshie – A Comparative Analysis With Electronic Waste Workers

ABSTRACT Background: E-waste contains refined mixtures of plastics and chemicals, which can be unsafe for people and the environment when not handled carefully. In developing nations like Ghana where e-waste is ripped to shreds and recycled by bare hands, dangerous substances and plastics are emitted into the atmosphere through air, water, and soil. Workers around e-waste sites and those dismantling and sweltering the electronic waste to salvage valuable metals and other constituents are exposed to unsafe chemicals such as particulate matter, dust from heavy metals and toxic organic compounds found in dust and smoke/fumes, all of which could have a deleterious effect on their health and the environment. Objective: The aim of the study was to conduct a comparative analysis of cardio respiratory function among female mobile food vendors and electronic waste workers at the Agbogbloshie e-waste recycling site. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Agbogbloshie from May to July 2018, among female mobile food vendors and e-waste workers. Cardio respiratory function indices such as Blood pressure, Pulse, Oxygen saturation level and lung function tests were conducted and a structured questionnaire was used to gather demographic data and respiratory symptoms. Statistical analysis was done in STATA software version 15.0. Descriptive statistics including frequency and percentages were done to summarize categorical variables. Chi square analysis was used to assess the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and student T test was used to compare cardio respiratory functions between e-waste workers and female mobile food vendors. A multivariate regression analysis was done to examine the relationship between cardio-respiratory measures, and age and work-related factors Results: Mean age of female mobile food vendors and e-waste workers was 25.8±8.4 and 25.3±7.5 years respectively. Common respiratory symptoms among study participants were sneezing (73.0% vs. 80.4%), easy tiredness (78.4% vs. 80.4%) and colds (78.4% vs. 69.6%). Pulse rate (81.4±13.3bpm vs. 72.1±11.0bpm; p=0.0010) and oxygen saturation levels (98.3±1.7 vs. 97.3±1.7; p=0.0091) were significantly high in food vendors than in e-waste workers. High blood pressure was more common in e-waste workers (54.1%) than in female food vendors (32.6%) and the means of FEV1/FVC (69.5±19.6 vs. 71.4±18.8; p=0.6489) and FEV1/FVC% (81.7±22.9 vs. 80.8±20.8; p=0.8512) were statistically similar. Conclusions: This study showed no significant differences in cardio respiratory functions among mobile female food vendors and e-waste workers