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ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2010 | Volume
: 14
| Issue : 3 | Page : 94-96 |
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Morbidity profile of cotton mill workers
Pravin N Yerpude, Keerti S Jogdand
Department of Community Medicine, Katuri Medical College and Hospital, Guntur 522 019, Andhra Pradesh, India
| Date of Web Publication | 15-Jan-2011 |
Correspondence Address:
Pravin N Yerpude
Department of Community Medicine, Katuri Medical College and Hospital, Katuri Nagar, Chinakondrupadu, Guntur 522 019, Andhra Pradesh
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0019-5278.75697
Objective: To study the morbidity pattern among cotton mill workers. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in cotton mills in Guntur District (AP) in January 2009 to May 2009. Total 474 workers were included in the study. Results: All study subjects were male. Most of the study subjects belonged to age group 30−40 years (56.96%) and lower socioeconomic status (36.09%) according to modified Kuppuswamy's classification. The literacy status was varied with 5.70% being illiterate and 37.13% were educated up to primary school. Most of workers were working in Ring frame (41.56%) and majority (58.44%) were working for the last 5−10 years. Mean height of study subjects was 147.42 cm and mean weight was 55.11 kg. The common morbid conditions found were eosinophilia (18.35%), iron deficiency anemia (28.90%), byssinosis grade 1 (7.80%), dental stains (6.54%), refractive errors (7.80%), chronic bronchitis (4.85%), and upper respiratory tract infection (8.64%).
Keywords: Cotton mill workers, morbidity profile
How to cite this article:
Yerpude PN, Jogdand KS. Morbidity profile of cotton mill workers. Indian J Occup Environ Med 2010;14:94-6 |
| Introduction | |  |
Occupational health is a branch of community medicine which deals with the effects of occupation or workplace on human health. [1] Every occupation is associated with one or other ill effects on health. One such occupational group is cotton mill workers. Cotton mill workers are susceptible to various morbid conditions by virtue of workplace and working conditions. These morbid conditions may range from chronic respiratory diseases due to cotton dust inhalation [2] to anemia because of nutritional deficiency. Though many studies on chronic respiratory disease among cotton mill workers have been carried out, [3],[4],[5] a study including complete health profile of cotton mill workers is limited. With this background, the present study was undertaken to study the morbidity profile among cotton mill workers
| Materials and Methods | | |
The present cross-sectional study was carried out among cotton mill workers in Guntur District (AP) from January 2009 to May 2009. All 474 workers who were working in the cotton mill were included in the study. Interview technique was used to collect information on a predesigned pro forma regarding demographic data, occupational history, and history of present and past complaints. This was followed by complete clinical examination, laboratory investigations such as hemoglobin estimation, peripheral smear examination, and chest radiograph of each study subjects. Standard diagnostic criteria were used for the diagnosis of various morbid conditions. [6],[7],[8]
For byssinosis Roach and Schilling criteria [2] was used.
| Results | | |
Distribution of study subjects according to demographic characteristic is shown in [Table 1]. Majority of study subjects belonged to 30−35 years (31.22%) and 35−40 years (25.74%) age group. 37.13% workers had primary education while 28.90% workers had educational attainment up to middle school level. Majority of study subjects belonged to lower (36.09%) and upper lower (34.38%) socioeconomic status according to modified Kuppuswamy's socioeconomic status scale. | Table 1 :Distribution of study subjects according to demographic characteristics
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[Table 2] shows the distribution of study subjects according to occupational and personal characteristics. Majority (58.44%) of workers had considerable duration of exposure, i.e., 5−10 years and that too in dusty departments such as winding, ring frame, speed frame, and carding. Of the total 474 study subjects, only 20.46% were smokers. | Table 2 :Distribution of study subjects according to occupational and personal characteristic
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Distribution of study subjects according to anthropometric characteristics is shown in [Table 3]. The mean height of study subjects was 147.42 cm. Majority (36.50%) of study subjects had height between 160 and 165 cm. Similarly, the mean weight of study subjects was 55.11 kg with majority (38.61%) of study subjects having body weight between 55 and 65 kg. Using body mass index as a parameter for obesity, 37.34% study subjects were found to have obesity of varying degrees. | Table 3 :Distribution of study subjects according to anthropometric characteristics
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[Table 4] shows the various morbid conditions among workers. Most common morbid conditions included eosinophilia (18.35%), iron deficiency anemia (28.90%), byssinosis grade 1 (7.80%), dental stains (6.54%), refractive errors (7.80%), chronic bronchitis (4.85%), upper respiratory tract infection (8.64%).
| Discussion | | |
In the present study, a respiratory morbidity is due to the inflammatory and allergic response to inhaled cotton dust particles resulting in chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, upper respiratory tract infection, and byssinosis. Other studies have also reported similar findings. [3],[4],[5] Allergic response to inhaled cotton dust particles may have been responsible for eosinophilia. High prevalence of dental problems suggests a poor oral hygiene among study subjects. As most of the study subjects belonged to upper lower and lower socioeconomic class, they have poor purchasing capacity, which may be responsible for a high prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among study subjects.
| Conclusion | | |
The present study indicates a need of health education regarding use of personal protective devices such as mask and other respiratory devices and maintaining high standard of oral and personal hygiene. Tobacco smoking and chewing should be prevented.
| References | | |
| 1. | Park K. Park's text book of Preventive and Social Medicine. 20 th ed. Jabalpur: Banarsidas Bhanot Publishers; 2009. p. 708-11. 
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| 2. | Raffle PA, Lee WR, Murray R, McCallum RI. Hunter's Diseases of Occupations. 6 th ed. London: Hodder and Stoughton; 1987. p. 690-705.
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| 3. | Parikh JR, Bhagia LJ, Majumdar PK, Shah AR, Kashyap SK. Prevalence of byssinosis in textile mills at Ahmedabad, India. Br J Ind Med 1989;46:789-90.
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| 4. | Gupta S, Gupta BK. A study of byssinosis and associated respiratory disorders in cotton mill workers. Indian J Chest Dis Allied Sci 1986;28:183-8.
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| 5. | Parikh JR, Bhagia LJ, Shah AR, Majumdar PK, Rao NM, Kashyap SK. Chronic bronchitis in textile workers. Indian J Ind Med 1994;40:62-5.
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| 6. | Edwards RW,Bouchier IAD.Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine. London: ELBS with Churchill Livingstone; 1991. p. 501-3.
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| 7. | World Health Organisation. Nutritional anaemia. Technical Report Series No. 409, Geneva: World Health Organisation; 1968. p. 9-10.
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| 8. | World Health Organisation. Hypertension Control. Technical Report Series No.862, Geneva: World Health Organisation; 1996. p. 2-10.
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[Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3], [Table 4]
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