Abstract
Background: Traffic policemen are one of the most vulnerable groups to various illnesses as they are exposed to dust, noise, fumes, ultra-violet radiation during their work.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the 36-Whitefield traffic police personnel. The study group classified into two sub groups ‘A’ and ‘B’ depending on the duration of exposure less than or equal to 5-years and more than 5-years respectively.
Results: Health ailments detected were Eye irritation (14 persons- 38.9%), Chronic Cough (8 persons- 22.2%), Wheeze (4 persons- 11.1%), Dermatitis (6 persons- 16.7%), Anxiety (4 persons- 11.1%), Varicose veins (4 persons- 11.1%) and Fatigue (4 persons- 11.1%). 8 (22.2%) had chest expansion less than 4cm and 21 persons (58.3%) had reduced PEFR less than 500L/min. 16 (44.4%) personnel belonged to group A (occupational exposure ≤5 years) while 20 (55.6%) belonged to group B (occupational exposure >5 years). The group B had a higher prevalence of all the health ailments. Only 11 policemen were using any personal protection measures.
Conclusion: Traffic police showed a high prevalence of various health ailments due to occupational exposure which increases with the duration of exposure. The study was used to increase group's awareness towards preventive measures.
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Corresponding Author
Dr Veerabhadra Radhakrishna
MBBS, MS, MCh, Senior Resident, Department of Paediatric Surgery,
Indiragandhi Institute of Child health, Bangalore, India
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v4i12.125
