Table 1.
Description of the socio-demographic characteristics of the study population and risk factors associated with respiratory symptoms.
| Characteristics | Total (n, %) | Landfill Site 1 (n = 292) |
Landfill Site 2 (n = 62) |
p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 259 (73.16) | 229 (78.42) | 30 (48.39) | <0.001 |
| Female | 95 (26.84) | 63 (21.58) | 32 (51.61) | |
| Age | ||||
| 18–28 | 123 (34.75) | 118 (40.41) | 5 (8.06) | <0.001 |
| 29–39 | 152 (42.94) | 129 (44.18) | 23 (37.10) | |
| 40–50 | 47 (13.28) | 29 (9.93) | 18 (29.03) | |
| 51+ | 32 (9.04) | 16 (5.48) | 16 (25.81) | |
| Education | ||||
| None | 15 (4.25) | 11 (3.78) | 4 (6.45) | <0.001 |
| Primary | 59 (16. 71) | 35 (12.03) | 24 (38.71) | |
| Secondary | 274 (77.62) | 241 (82.82) | 33 (53.23) | |
| Tertiary | 5 (1.42) | 4 (1.37) | 1 (1.42) | |
| Current/Ever Smoked | ||||
| Yes | 246 (69.49) | 220 (75.34) | 26 (41.94) | <0.001 |
| No | 108 (30.51) | 72 (24.66) | 36 (58.06) | |
| Years smoked | 10 (6–15) | median 10: IQR 6–14 | median 17: IQR 10–21 | <0.001 |
| Occupation | ||||
| Years Working in Landfill Site | 5 (3–10) | median 4: IQR 2–7 | median 13: IQR 9–17 | <0.001 |
| Perception that Landfill Affects Chest | ||||
| Yes | 158 (45.40) | 134 (46.90) | 24 (39.34) | 0.295 |
| No | 190 (54.60) | 153 (53.31) | 37 (60.66) | |
| Medical History | ||||
| % Tuberculosis | 11 (3.14) | 6 (2.08) | 5 (8.06) | 0.014 |
| % Asthma | 12 (3.40) | 12 (4.12) | 0 (0.00) | 0.104 |
| % Sprains and Muscle Strains | 98 (29.25) | 80 (28.88) | 18 (31.03) | 0.743 |
| Source of Fuel (Cooking) | ||||
| Electricity | 239 (67.51) | 185 (63.36) | 54 (87.10) | 0.010 |
| Paraffin | 65 (18.36) | 59 (20.21) | 6 (9.68) | |
| Gas | 5 (1.41) | 5 (1.71) | 0 (0.00) | |
| Wood/coal | 43 (12.15) | 41 (14.04) | 2 (3.23) | |
| Other | 2 (0.56) | 2 (0.68) | 0 (0.00) | |
| Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (%) | ||||
| Always | 341 (96.33) | 279 (95.55) | 62 (100.00) | 0.087 |
| Sometimes/Never | 13 (3.67) | 13 (4.45) | 0 (0.00) | |
| Exposures | ||||
| Chemicals (%) (n = 351) | 0.803 | |||
| Yes | 233 (66.38) | 194 (66.67) | 21 (35.00) | |
| No | 118 (33.62) | 97 (33.33) | 39 (65.00) | |
| Airborne Dust (%) (n = 352) | 0.007 | |||
| No problem | 12 (3.41) | 6 (2.07) | 6 (9.68) | |
| Moderate/major problem | 340 (96.59) | 284 (97.9) | 56 (90.33) | |