Envitonmental epidemiological study on respiratory diseases in two Hungarian towns

Abstract

Authors performed standardized, respiratory and risk factor questionnaire surveys among the adult population of two towns of Hungary: the first in Nyergesújfalu, according to the distance of the flat from asbestos cement factory, and the second in Komárom, a settlement of a smaller burden of industry. They excluded the data of former asbestos industry workers from the calculations. By the analysis of the Nyergesújfalu data they concluded that odds of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms, other illnesses and tumors were not significantly higher among the inhabitants living in the vicinity of the asbestos factory than those living farther from there, based on raw and adjusted comparisons. However, the odds of these health endpoints were significantly and approximately one and a half to two and a half times greater in Nyergesújfalu than in Komárom. Indeed, more of the odds of the investigated risk factors were also greater in Nyergesújfalu than in Komárom. So the aim of this analysis was to compare the odds of COPD and other illnesses' burdens in the two towns adjusted to the checked lifestyle, household and workplace factors. Logistic regression models were used. The adjusted odds of the most COPD symptoms were also significantly greater in Nyergesújfalu than in Komárom. The conclusion is that the role of the environmental asbestos exposure should furthermore not be excluded, influencing the odds of the COPD symptoms of adults who were not exposed to asbestos occupationally. (However, even this study confirms the significant associations between the health endpoints and gender, age, smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, occupational exposure, indoor mould and heredity.) The need for performing analytic studies, e.g. by transmission electron microscopy, can be put, for how great are, and, how different are the asbestos concentrations in the air of the two towns (this can allude to the former asbestos concentrations in the air), moreover, how great are, and, how different are the asbestos concentrations in autopsy lung samples in the two towns. Mainly after seeing clearly in these questions, it is to consider suggesting the right intervention steps. Moreover, the elimination of the identified risk factors claims for effective health education activity.