Adverse health outcomes among workers of wood pellet production facilities

Abstract

Introduction Workers of pellet production facilities (WPPF) are exposed to high concentrations of wood dust and microbial pollutants. Such stimulation may lead to numerous allergic and toxic reactions, infections, and other non-specific syndromes. Objective To check the influence of individual traits of workers and characteristic features / factors of their living and working environments on the probability of adverse outcomes’ appearance. Material and Methods The questionnaire study assessing adverse health effects resulting from individual exposure was conducted among 28 workers of 10 Polish WPPF. The logistic regression (for dichotomous variables) was used to determine the appearance probability (given as odds ratio) of adverse symptoms or diseases. Results and Conclusions WPPF workers may have an increased risk of developing work-related adverse health outcomes. Both the individual traits and environmental exposure factors significantly influence the probability of their occurrence.

Keywords

• pellet
• wood dust
• bioaerosol
• health questionnaire
• occupational exposure
• individual traits
• environmental factors
• logistic regression