Affiliation:
1. Department of Family Medicine, RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus, 4, Jalan Sepoy Lines, 10450 Penang, Malaysia
Abstract
Background: Despite its excellent psychometric properties, St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) has not been previously used in measuring respiratory quality of life (RQoL) among traffic police and firefighters who are at risk of poor respiratory health by virtue of their occupations. Objective: To assess and compare the RQoL of the occupationally exposed (firefighters and traffic police) and the occupationally unexposed populations in Penang, Malaysia. Methods: We recruited male traffic police and firefighters from 5 districts of Penang by convenient sampling during June to September 2018. Participants completed the SGRQ. Scores (symptoms, activity, impacts, total) were derived using a scoring calculator. Higher scores indicate poorer RQoL. Univariate and multivariate linear regression models were fitted to explore the relationship of the independent predictive factors with participants' RQoL. Results: We recruited 706 participants—211 firefighters, 198 traffic police, and 297 from general population. Smokers had significantly higher scores than non-smokers in all SGRQ domains. Regardless of smoking status, the "occupationally exposed group" had higher symptoms score than the "occupationally unexposed group," who had higher activity and impact scores. Smoking status, comorbidity status and monthly income were significant independent predictors of SGRQ total score. Conclusion: In comparison with the general population, firefighters and traffic police reported poorer RQoL; smoking further deteriorated their respiratory health. There is a need to strengthen preventive health measures against occupational disease and smoking cessation among firefighters and traffic police.
Publisher
Maad Rayan Publishing Company
Subject
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Reference45 articles.
1. The respiratory pyramid: From symptoms to disease in World Trade Center exposed firefighters;Niles JK;Am J Ind Med,2013
2. Epidemiology of respiratory health outcomes among World Trade Center disaster workers: review of the literature 10 years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks;Ekenga CC;Disaster Med Public Health Prep,2011
3. Symptoms, respirator use, and pulmonary function changes among New York City firefighters responding to the World Trade Center disaster;Feldman DM;Chest,2004
4. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Emergency Services: A Literature Review on Occupational Safety and Health Risks In: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). 2011. Available from https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-publications/publications/literature_reviews/emergency_services_occupational_safety_and_health_risks (Accessed Jan 5, 2019).
5. Health hazards of fire fighters: exposure assessment;Brandt-Rauf PW;Br J Ind Med,1988
Cited by
5 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献