Ambient air quality and the risk for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease among Metro Manila Development Authority traffic enforcers in Metro Manila: An exploratory study

Determining the ergonomic risk factors affecting the musculoskeletal disorders of traffic enforcers in Manila City, Philippines

BACKGROUND

Traffic enforcers are vulnerable to work accidents, injuries, and illnesses because they are commonly exposed to ergonomic risk factors while performing their tasks.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of environmental risk factors and postural risk factor to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among traffic enforcers in Manila City, Philippines using binary logistic regression analysis.

METHODS

A total of 120 participants were included in the study. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) were utilized. In addition, several devices such as a noise dosimeter, digital air thermometer, and IAQ sensors were also utilized to measure the environmental exposure of enforcers during their work shift.

RESULTS

The prevalence of MSDs among traffic enforcers was high, with 71% of the respondents reporting symptoms of MSDs in more than one part of the body for the past 7 days. The body part that has highest prevalence was upper back, followed by lower back, and legs/ankles. Logistic regression analysis revealed that awkward work posture (OR = 4.61, 95% CI = 2.17, 9.83), noise exposure (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.11, 1.82), heat exposure (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.85, 1.05), and pollution exposure (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.85, 1.05) were significant contributors for the prevalence of MSDs among traffic enforcers in Manila City.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of MSDs among traffic enforcers is caused by their work posture and exposure to psychosocial factors such as noise, heat, and poor air quality. Thus, to minimize the risk of MSDs, it is suggested to provide administrative controls, such as job rotation or shifting, and introduce frequent rest breaks. It is also recommended to provide enforcers with appropriate personal protective equipment, such as cooling vests, noise-canceling earplugs and N95 facemasks. This would help in uplifting musculoskeletal health for traffic enforcers and other workers in a similar field.

Exposure to Air Pollutants Increases the Risk of Chronic Rhinosinusitis in Taiwan Residents

Air pollution triggers a tissue-specific inflammatory response. However, studies on the association between exposure to air pollutants and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) risk remain limited. Thus, we conducted this nationwide study to define the association between air pollution and CRS. We used the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database (LHID) and Taiwan Air Quality-Monitoring Database (TAQMD) to conduct a population-based cohort study. Study participants were recruited from the LHID, a data subset of the National Health Insurance Research Database that randomly sampled one million individuals. TAQMD has been an air pollutant database since 1998. In univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models, adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% CIs of CRS in five air pollutants were accounted. We adjusted for age, sex, urbanization level, insurance fee, comorbidities, and pollutant levels in the multivariate model. The total number of participants enrolled in this study was 160,504. The average age was 40.46 ± 14.62 years; males constituted 43.8% of the total participants. The percentages of alcoholism, tobacco dependence, and COPD were 1.5%, 2.8%, and 28.3%, respectively. After adjustment for age, sex, urbanization level, insurance fee, and comorbidities, the highest levels of air pollutants, including PM_2.5 (aHR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.06–1.22), NO₂ (aHR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.00–1.15), and PM₁₀ (aHR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.05–1.21) had a significantly greater CRS risk; we selected the lower concentration as the reference but did not correlate with CO. We found a significantly increased risk of CRS in residents with air pollutant exposure.