Factors associated with self-reported exposure to chemical substances at work in Brazil: results from the National Health Survey, 2013

Assunção, Ada Ávila; Abreu, Mery Natali Silva; Souza, Priscila Sílvia Nunes

doi:10.11606/s1518-8787.2020054001461

Brasil

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Original Article • Rev. Saúde Pública 54 • 2020 • https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2020054001461 linkcopy

Factors associated with self-reported exposure to chemical substances at work in Brazil: results from the National Health Survey, 2013

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE To describe the prevalence of self-reported exposure to chemical substances at work and its associated factors in a sample of Brazilian adults that participated in the National Health Survey, conducted between 2013 and 2014.

METHODS Our sample consisted of adults aged 18 years or older that answered question E1 of module E: “In the week of July 21-27, 2013 (reference week), did you work as regular employee or intern for at least an hour in any activity paid with cash?” Sociodemographic data, situation and health behaviors were analyzed with single and multivariate binary logistic regression. The model was adjusted by the variables of all groups, adopting a 5% significance level. The values of odds ratio (OR) and respective confidence intervals were obtained.

RESULTS Women (OR = 0.74; 95%CI 0.66–0.82) had a lower chance of exposure to chemicals. The highest chances were observed in groups with no instruction or that attended up to middle-school (OR = 1.77; 95%CI 1.50–2.08), high school (OR = 1.62; 95%CI 1.37–1.91), age between 25 and 54 years (OR = 1.26; 95%CI 1.07–1.48), current smokers (OR = 1.21; 95%CI 1.07–1.37), who reported tiredness (OR = 1.35; 95%CI 1.21–1.50), hearing difficulties (OR = 1.24; 95%CI 1.04–1.48) and who reported having suffered an accident at work (OR = 2.00; 95%CI 1.57–2.54).

CONCLUSIONS The unprecedented results cover the entire workforce. Positive associations with hearing loss, smoking and history of work accidents are consistent, as well as the inverse association with education level and gender differences. The absence of association with asthma was surprising. To fill gaps in investigations on chronic non-communicable diseases, we suggested improving the PNS collection instrument in the occupational dimension.

Occupational exposure; Chemical Compounds; Working conditions; Occupational Health; Health Surveys; National Survey on Health

	Percentage total sample (%)	Prevalence of exposure to chemicals (%)	p*	OR (95%CI)
Gender
Male	53.4	20.3	< 0.001	1.00
Female	46.6	15.5		0.72 (0.65–0.80)
Age group (years)
18–24	12.1	15.9	0.001	1.00
25–54	74.5	19.1		1.25 (1.07–1.47)
≥ 55	13.4	15.6		0.98 (0.80–1.19)
Marital status
With a partner	39.8	18.9	0.070	1.00
No partner	60.2	17.5		0.94 (0.83–1.01)
Education level
College	22.5	12.2	< 0.001	1.00
High school	35.9	18.7		1.64 (1.39–1.94)
Middle-school or @no instruction	41.5	20.9		1.90 (1.62–2.23)
Race
White	40.5	17.8	0.178	1.00
Black	9.5	20.6		1.20 (1.00–1.44)
Mixed race	48.5	18.1		1.02 (0.92–1.14)
Others	1.5	15.9		0.88 (0.56–1.37)

	Percentage total sample (%)	Prevalence of exposure to chemicals (%)	p*	OR (95%CI)
Self-assessment of health
Very good	15.0	16.7	0.015	1.00
Good	57.3	17.8		1.08 (0.94–1.23)
Regular, poor and very poor	27.8	19.7		1.22 (1.05–1.43)
Sleep problems
No	72.8	17.2	< 0.001	1.00
Yes	27.2	20.8		1.26 (1.14–1.40)
Tiredness
No	69.0	16.8	< 0.001	1.00
Yes	31.0	21.2		1.33 (1.20–1.47)
Hearing difficulty
No	93.2	17.8	< 0.001	1.00
Yes	6.8	22.9		1.38 (1.16–1.63)
Suffered an accident at work in the prior 12 months
No	97.1	17.7	< 0.001	1.00
Yes	2.9	33.2		2.32 (1.83–2.93)
Arterial hypertension
No	83.4	18.1	0.422	1.00
Yes	16.6	18.8		1.05 (0.93–1.19)
Diagnosed with depression
No	94.1	17.9	0.013	1.00
Yes	5.9	21.6		1.26 (1.05–1.52)
Diagnosed with asthma or asthmatic bronchitis
No	95.7	18.1	0.252	1.00
Yes	4.3	20.1		1.15 (0.91–1.44)
Heavy episodic drinking
No	43.0	20.5	0.385	1.00
Yes	57.0	21.6		1.07 (0.92–1.25)
Current smoker
No	84.6	17.4	< 0.001	1.00
Yes	15.4	22.4		1.37 (1.22–1.55)

	OR (95%CI)
	Model group 1 – Sociodemographic characteristics	Model group 2 – Lifestyles	Model group 3 – health situation	Final model
Gender
Male	1.00			1.00
Female	0.75 (0.68–0.84)			0.74 (0.66–0.82)
Age group (years)
18–24	1.00			1.00
25–54	1.28 (1.09–1.50)			1.26 (1.07–1.48)
≥ 55	0.92 (0.75–1.13)			0.92 (0.75–1.13)
Education level
Higher education	1.00			1.00
High school	1.63 (1.38–1.92)			1.62 (1.37–1.91)
Middle-school or no instruction	1.86 (1.58–2.18)			1.77 (1.50–2.08)
Current smoker
No		1.00		1.00
Yes		1.37 (1.22–1.55)		1.21 (1.07–1.37)
Tiredness
No			1.00	1.00
Yes			1.28 (1.16–1.43)	1.35 (1.21–1.50)
Hearing difficulty
No			1.00	1.00
Yes			1.29 (1.08–1.53)	1.24 (1.04–1.48)
Work accident
No			1.00	1.00
Yes			2.22 (1.75–2.82)	2.00 (1.57–2.54)

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Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904 São Paulo SP Brazil, Tel./Fax: +55 11 3061-7985 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
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[TFN1] OR: odds ratio; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval. Values with statistical significance are presented in bold.

[TFN2] * Pearson’s chi-square test.