Risk factors for chronic diseases among road sweepers in Bangkok

The nutritional and health status of road sweepers in Bangkok was investigated. Fifty-seven males and one hundred thirty-four females from 10 districts were selected for the study. The districts were sampled as cluster at random. From each district selected about 50% of road sweepers volunteered to participate in the investigation. Through questionnaires the age, marital status, place of origin, drinking and smoking habits were assessed. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure and the lipid profile of these subjects were determined. According to a physical check-up and X-rays taken, all individuals investigated were apparently healthy. The age of the study group varied between 26 and 57 years. The median for the males was 47 years and for the females 37.5 years. Almost all the road sweepers were married. Smoking and alcohol drinking was widespread. Over- and undernutrition was found among the group investigated. 26.3% of the males and 1.5% of the females were undernourished. According to their systolic values, 15.8% of the males and 6.7% of the females were suffering from hypertension, and 38.6% of the males and 15.7% of the females had hypertension according to their diastolic values. 58.2% of the females and 29.3% of the males were overnourished. 57.9% of the males and 59.7% of the females had cholesterol levels above 200 mg/dl. Pathological values of LDL cholesterol were determined in 26.3% of the males and 28.4% of the females. The habit of consuming tonic drinks was widespread among the workers. The study concluded that behavior risk factors are highly prevalent in the group of workers belonging to the lower socio-economic class. Further investigations are presently being undertaken to study the after-effects of air pollution among this group of workers. The results will be subsequently reported in future publications.