A Comparison of Occupational CO Levels, HbCO, and Lung Functions Between Grill and Non-grill Street Vendors

There is a surge increase in grills-fast food outlet in the urban areas that plays an essential role in producing air pollution. Chronic accumulation of carbon monoxide might affect the airway and destroy alveolus as well as correlated with the disturbance of lung function.

The purpose of this study is to compare the occupational CO levels, HbCO, and lung functions between grill and non-grill street vendors.

This was an observational analytic study with a case-control design. The subjects were grill street vendors and non-grill street vendors in Medan city who fulfilled several inclusion criteria. The questionnaire was used to determine some characteristics, while smokerlyzer, and ELISA for expiration CO level and blood CO level, spirometer was used to determining lung function. Logistic regression was performed with p-value < 0.05 considered to be significant using SPSS ver 24.0.

A total of 50 subjects enrolled into this study with the majority of subjects in the case group were in red (40%) zone in CO exhaled test with the results in pulmonary function test, predominantly restrictive (56%) and mixed-type (40%) with the mean value of HbCO was 486.16 (ng/mL). Meanwhile, the majority of subjects were green zone with mixed type of lung function disturbance in the control group with 540.15 (ng/mL) as HBCO mean value. Grilled street vendors have a higher level of exhaled CO level (p- value: 0.03) without significant difference in HbCO and lung functions (p-value > 0.05). Age, smoking status, HbCO, and lung function did not significantly affect the CO level (p-value: 0.05).

There was a significant difference in exhaled CO level between grill-and non-grill street vendors without significant difference in HbCO and lung functions.