Africa Centre of Excellence for Public Health and Toxicological Research (ACE-PUTOR), University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Department of Community Medicine, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
Ann Glob Health. 2023 Oct 27;89(1):74. doi: 10.5334/aogh.4247. eCollection 2023.
Artisanal refining of crude oil has been associated with the manifestations of various health problems directly related to the release of particulate matter, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), into the environment. This study thus assessed the respiratory health effects associated with being resident in areas where crude oil is artisanally refined in Bayelsa State.
This study utilized a comparative, cross-sectional design and was conducted in three communities in Bayelsa State. These included Sampou (a mildly exposed community), Nembe, and Gbarain (severely exposed communities). A sample population of 615 adults selected by multistage sampling completed the study instrument, which assessed data on their respiratory health. Environmental monitoring of the PAHs levels of the samples was done, and concentrations were determined using the gas chromatography/flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25 was used to conduct descriptive and inferential analyses.
Findings revealed that the highest number of moderate to severe respiratory disease symptoms was experienced by respondents from Nembe 12 (41.4%), followed by those from Sampou 8 (27.6%), and then by those from Gbarain 9 (31.0%). Also, coughing that occurred mostly when lying down was found to be significantly prevalent among residents of Nembe [35 (47.9%); p-value: 0.016], among other symptoms. Respiratory disease symptoms were more likely to be found among females (p-value: 0.037), smokers (p-value: 0.002), and those having a low health risk perception related to PAHs exposure (p-value: 0.002).
Respondents from the three study sites had in the past 12 months experienced various respiratory disease symptoms, which could be directly related to their exposure to pollution from artisanal crude oil refining. Artisanal refining of crude oil should be continually dissuaded through unwavering enforcement of environmental health laws in order to further improve public and environmental health.
手工提炼原油与各种健康问题有关，这些问题直接与环境中释放的颗粒物有关，包括多环芳烃（PAHs）。因此，本研究评估了在贝宁州手工提炼原油的地区居住与呼吸健康相关的影响。
本研究采用了对比、横断面设计，并在贝宁州的三个社区进行。这些社区包括 Sampou（轻度暴露社区）、Nembe 和 Gbarain（严重暴露社区）。通过多级抽样选择了 615 名成年人作为样本，完成了评估呼吸健康数据的研究工具。对样本中的 PAHs 水平进行了环境监测，并使用气相色谱/火焰离子化检测器（GC/FID）确定了浓度。使用社会科学统计软件包 25 进行了描述性和推断性分析。
研究结果显示，Nembe 12 的受访者经历了最多的中度至重度呼吸道疾病症状（41.4%），其次是 Sampou 8（27.6%），然后是 Gbarain 9（31.0%）。此外，在Nembe（35（47.9%）；p 值：0.016）发现，当居民躺下时，咳嗽的发生率明显较高，其他症状也是如此。在女性（p 值：0.037）、吸烟者（p 值：0.002）以及对 PAHs 暴露相关健康风险感知较低的人群（p 值：0.002）中，更有可能发现呼吸道疾病症状。
来自三个研究地点的受访者在过去 12 个月中经历了各种呼吸道疾病症状，这些症状可能与他们接触手工提炼原油产生的污染直接相关。为了进一步改善公众和环境健康，应持续通过坚决执行环境健康法来劝阻手工提炼原油。
