期刊名称：Environmental Health - a Global Access Science Source
印刷版ISSN：1476-069X
电子版ISSN：1476-069X
出版年度：2015
卷号：14
期号：1
页码：33
DOI：10.1186/s12940-015-0018-7
语种：English
出版社：BioMed Central
摘要：There is increasing evidence that environmental factors such as air pollution from mine dumps, increase the risk of chronic respiratory symptoms and diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between proximity to mine dumps and prevalence of chronic respiratory disease in people aged 55 years and older. Elderly persons in communities 1-2 km (exposed) and 5 km (unexposed), from five pre-selected mine dumps in Gauteng and North West Province, in South Africa were included in a cross-sectional study. Structured interviews were conducted with 2397 elderly people, using a previously validated ATS-DLD-78 questionnaire from the British Medical Research Council. Exposed elderly persons had a significantly higher prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms and diseases than those who were unexposed., Results from the multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that living close to mine dumps was significantly associated with asthma (OR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.20 – 2.05), chronic bronchitis (OR = 1.74; 95 CI: 1.25 – 2.39), chronic cough (OR = 2.02; 95% CI: 1.58 – 2.57), emphysema (OR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.11 – 2.77), pneumonia (OR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.07 – 1.77) and wheeze (OR = 2.01; 95% CI: 1.73 – 2.54). Residing in exposed communities, current smoking, ex-smoking, use of paraffin as main residential cooking/heating fuel and low level of education emerged as independent significant risk factors for chronic respiratory symptoms and diseases. This study suggests that there is a high level of chronic respiratory symptoms and diseases among elderly people in communities located near to mine dumps in South Africa.
关键词：Mine dumps ; Chronic respiratory diseases ; Elderly ; South Africa
