Exposure to Wood dust and its Respiratory Health Effects Among Wood Workers in Yaoundé (Cameroon)

Abstract

BackgroundOccupational respiratory diseases are responsible of one-third of all documented work-related deaths. Exposure to wood dust leads to multiple respiratory manifestations including cough, chest pain, asthma and altered lung function. The aim of this study was to assess the level of exposure to wood dust and its respiratory health correlates among woodworkers in Yaoundé.MethodologyThe present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 37 carpentry workshops in the city of Yaoundé. From October 2021 to February 2022. The geographical site selection was purposeful, taking into account areas with large numbers of workers and woodworker shop. Woodworker shops were enumerated and randomly selected. Respiratory manifestations were assessed upon a clinical respiratory examination involving cough, expectoration, wheezing and dyspnea. The force expiratory volume was determined using a dry spirometer. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 23.0 software; tables and graphs were generated using Excel 2013 software. The significance level was set at 0.05.ResultsThe study population was exclusively male, with a mean age of 34.04 ± 11.69 years. With 15.02 ± 12 years of woodwork experience. The respiratory symptoms reported were cough that was productive (41.8%) or dry (33.6%), chest pain (34.4%), dyspnea (41%) and wheezing (15.6%). The lung function decreased among the duration of woodwork experience.ConclusionRespiratory manifestation among woodworkers were reported. And there is a urgent need to implement woodwork safety measures including education on exposure and adherence to protective measure.