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Heat-health vulnerabilities in the climate change context—comparing risk profiles between indoor and outdoor workers in developing country settings

Environmental research letters, 2021-08, Vol.16 (8), p.85008 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd ;2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License. ;ISSN: 1748-9326 ;EISSN: 1748-9326 ;DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac1469 ;CODEN: ERLNAL

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  • Title:
    Heat-health vulnerabilities in the climate change context—comparing risk profiles between indoor and outdoor workers in developing country settings
  • Author: Venugopal, Vidhya ; Shanmugam, Rekha ; Perumal Kamalakkannan, Latha
  • Subjects: Ambient temperature ; Climate change ; dehydration ; Developing countries ; Epidemiology ; Exposure ; Health risks ; Heat ; Heat stress ; Heat tolerance ; Indoor environments ; indoor organized sector ; Kidneys ; LDCs ; Mitigation ; Occupational exposure ; Occupational health ; occupational heat stress ; outdoor unorganized sector ; physiological heat strain ; Productivity ; Regression analysis ; Risk analysis ; Risk assessment ; Risk factors ; Workload ; Workloads
  • Is Part Of: Environmental research letters, 2021-08, Vol.16 (8), p.85008
  • Description: Abstract Occupational heat stress is a crucial risk factor for a range of Heat-Related Illnesses (HRI). Outdoor workers in unorganized work sectors exposed to high ambient temperatures are at increased risk in developing countries. We aim to compare HRI, Productivity Loss (PL), and reduced renal health risk between workers from outdoor unorganized ( N = 1053) and indoor organized ( N = 1051) work sectors. Using descriptive methods and a large epidemiological cross-sectional study using mixed methods, we compared risk patterns between the two groups. We analyzed the risk of self-reported HRI symptoms, Heat Strain Indicators (HSIs), PL, and reduced kidney function using Multivariate Logistic Regression (MLR) models. Although Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) exposures were high in both the outdoor and indoor sectors, significantly more Outdoor Unorganized Workers (OUWs) reported heat stress symptoms (45.2% vs 39.1%) among 2104 workers. OUWs had a significantly higher share of the heavy workload (86.7%) and long years of heat exposures (41.9%), the key drivers of HRIs, than the workers in indoor sectors. MLR models comparing the indoor vs outdoor workers showed significantly increased risk of HRI symptoms (Adjusted Odds Ratio) (AOR outdoor = 2.1; 95% C.I:1.60–2.77), HSI (AOR outdoor = 1.7; 95% C.I:1.00–2.93), PL (AOR outdoor = 11.4; 95% C.I:7.39–17.6), and reduced kidney function (Crude Odds Ratio) (COR outdoor = 1.4; 95% C.I:1.10–1.84) for the OUWs. Among the heat-exposed workers, OUW had a higher risk of HRI, HSI, and PL even after adjusting for potential confounders. The risk of reduced kidney function was significantly higher among OUWs, particularly for those with heat exposures and heavy workload (AOR outdoor = 1.5; 95% C.I: 0.96–2.44, p = 0.073) compared to the indoor workers. Further, in-depth studies, protective policies, feasible interventions, adaptive strategies, and proactive mitigation efforts are urgently needed to avert health and productivity risks for a few million vulnerable workers in developing nations as climate change proceeds.
  • Publisher: Bristol: IOP Publishing
  • Language: English
  • Identifier: ISSN: 1748-9326
    EISSN: 1748-9326
    DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac1469
    CODEN: ERLNAL
  • Source: IOP Publishing Free Content
    IOPscience (Open Access)
    GFMER Free Medical Journals
    ROAD: Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources
    ProQuest Central
    DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
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