Philip Mathew, Alex Reginald G, Sunny Soumya S, Alwan Anand, Guzzula Deepak, Srinivasan Rajan
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2014 Jan;18(1):9-12. doi: 10.4103/0019-5278.134946.
Service sector in Indian industrial growth has obtained significant numbers. Automobile service industry is one of the largest in the world with a majority of the workers in unorganized sector of the industry. This study was carried out among auto service industry workers in Vellore urban area to assess possible occupation related morbidity.
A cross-sectional observation study was carried out among 106 automobile repair shop workers.
Half (47%) suffered work related stress, 32 (30.2%) reported exposure to dust, 81 (76%) to heat, and 50 (17%) to hazardous chemicals and heavy metals. More than 90% reported over exposure to petroleum products. A third reported cough for more than 2 weeks, more than a quarter reported gastrointestinal symptoms associated with work. Half of them reported musculoskeletal complaints associated with work with a quarter reporting un-intentional work place injuries. A tenth of them were found to have reduced pulmonary function on testing and nearly half had impaired sensory functions in peripheries. Reduced pulmonary function was found to be significantly associated with heavy metal exposure (P = 0.001). Peripheral neuropathy was significantly associated with years of occupation (P = 0.001), exposure to petroleum products (P = 0.03) and exposure to heavy metals (P = 0.018).
Half of the workers were unaware of health problems associated with their occupational exposures and thereby the use of personal protection is abysmally low. A very high proportion of workers had symptoms of cough, breathlessness, abdominal pain, abdominal discomfort and muscle aches. Almost a quarter of the workers had un-intentional occupational injuries in the last 6 months. Though they work in a high-risk environment with chances of fire hazard, falls and chemical exposures, none of the workshops had fire-extinguishers, first aid kits or any such safety devices.
印度工业增长中的服务业取得了显著成绩。汽车服务业是世界上最大的行业之一，该行业的大多数工人都在非正规部门。本研究在韦洛尔市区的汽车服务业工人中开展，以评估可能与职业相关的发病率。
对106名汽车修理店工人进行了一项横断面观察研究。
一半（47%）的人遭受与工作相关的压力，32人（30.2%）报告接触过灰尘，81人（76%）接触过热，50人（17%）接触过有害化学品和重金属。超过90%的人报告过度接触石油产品。三分之一的人报告咳嗽超过2周，超过四分之一的人报告有与工作相关的胃肠道症状。其中一半的人报告有与工作相关的肌肉骨骼问题，四分之一的人报告有非故意的工作场所受伤。经测试，十分之一的人肺功能下降，近一半的人外周感觉功能受损。发现肺功能下降与重金属暴露显著相关（P = 0.001）。周围神经病变与职业年限（P = 0.001）、石油产品暴露（P = 0.03）和重金属暴露（P = 0.018）显著相关。
一半的工人不知道与其职业暴露相关的健康问题，因此个人防护用品的使用率极低。很大一部分工人有咳嗽、呼吸急促、腹痛、腹部不适和肌肉疼痛的症状。近四分之一的工人在过去6个月中有非故意的职业伤害。尽管他们在火灾、跌倒和化学品暴露风险高的环境中工作，但没有一个车间配备灭火器、急救箱或任何此类安全设备。
