Health outcomes of road-traffic pollution among exposed roadside workers in Rawalpindi City, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

To document ill-health effects of air pollution on the local inhabitants, we analyzed the self-reported health issues associated with the inhalation of road traffic on daily basis. For this purpose, a revised version of ALS-DLD-78S questionnaire was administered, comprising the personal information and details related to the clinical history of the surveyed population (i.e. n = 580). Five dependent (outcome) variables, including chest pain, redness of eyes, shortness of breath, eye-tearing, and skin-itching were taken into account. The results revealed that ∼80% of the surveyed population were directly or indirectly exposed to road traffic, and the incidence of chest pain among exposed individuals was estimated to increase with age (odds ratio (OR) = 6.49; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.46–28.81), especially among cardiac patients (OR = 13.87; 95%-CI = 3.28–58.61). However, the shortness of breath was predominantly observed among those who reported to have asthmatic symptoms (OR = 32.84; 95%-CI = 15.59–69.15) and cardiovascular symptoms (OR = 13.8: 95%-CI = 3.63–52.41). In case of itching, the population along the roadside were more vulnerable to exposure (OR = 5.79; 95%-CI = 2.81–11.93). While, exposure to traffic exhaust could be attributed to ∼3.13% rise in the incidences of redness of eyes among general population, the outcomes of this survey show that daily exposure to traffic pollution is an important health concern for the urban population in general, as well as for various occupational groups in particular, working in outdoor environment.

KEYWORDS:

• health risk factor
• occupational exposure
• urban health
• Rawalpindi

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Permission and support for this research were granted by the ethical review committee of Arid Agriculture University.