Characteristics and Determinants of the Presence of Respiratory Symptoms among Sewage Workers in Malaysia

Table 1

Descriptive results from human and environmental assessments performed in sewage plants located in the central region of Peninsular Malaysia (N = 191).

Variables	n (%) or mean ± SD
a) Human Assessment
Sociodemographics
Age	35.4 ± 9.96
Nationality
Malaysian	98 (51.3)
Non-Malaysian	93 (48.7)
Level of education
No formal education	14 (7.3)
Primary	28 (14.7)
Secondary	75 (39.3)
Tertiary	74 (38.7)
Marital Status
Single	59 (30.9)
Married	132 (69.1)
Job Profile
History of previous work
No	66 (65.4)
Yes	125 (34.6)
Duration of working (years)	5.4 ± 5.17
Working site
Office	41 (21.5)
Non-STF	92 (48.1)
STF	58 (30.4)
Job type
White collar	36 (18.8)
Blue collar	155 (81.2)
Type of job shift
Nonshift	113 (59.2)
Shift	78 (40.8)
Exposure to particles per day
Equal to or less than 4 hours	66 (34.6)
>4 hours	125 (65.4)
Safety practice
Every time	160 (83.8)
Sometimes	31 (16.2)
Risk and comorbidities
Hx of previous pulmonary disease
No	186 (97.3)
Yes	5 (2.7)
Smoking status
Noncurrent smoker	160 (83.8)
Current smoker	31 (16.2)
Exhaled CO status
Normal	165 (86.4)
Abnormal	26 (13.6)
Smoking duration (pack years)	27.55 ± 18.22
b) Environmental assessment
Air humidity	57.253 ± 0.587
Air movement	0.318 ± 0.154
Carbon dioxide	1051.094 ± 372.462
Particulate matter 2.5	0.101 ± 0.087
Hydrogen sulfide	2.437 ± 3.112
Hazard quotient
Acceptable	177 (92.7)
Nonacceptable	14 (7.3)