Assessment of Self-Reported Adverse Health Outcomes of Electronic Waste Workers Exposed to Xenobiotics in Ghana

One out of every eight deaths globally is attributable to air pollution and these disproportionately ensue in high population density areas in lower income countries characterized by higher long-term levels of ambient pollution. Yet, our understanding of how population attributes and neighborhood effects jointly influence exposure to e-waste related air pollutants and disease symptoms is limited. Generalized linear models (logit, complementary log-log, negative log-log regressions) were fitted to cross-sectional survey data on 260 e-waste and non e-waste workers in Ghana to assess the relationship between self-reported eye problems, skin burns, breathing difficulty and coughing, and where e-waste workers jointly reside and work. Individuals who were neither e-waste workers nor resident in the contaminated work environment were 74% less likely to report eye problems compared with their counterparts who were resident non e-waste workers. Resident e-waste workers were 84% more likely to report skin burns compared with their counterparts who were resident non e-waste workers. Individuals who had attained tertiary education were 98% less likely to report skin burns compared with their counterparts without any formal education. Resident e-waste workers reported more breathing difficulty (odds ratio [OR] = 3.30, confidence interval [CI]: 1.733-6.267). Unlike gender, age groups were a significant predictor of coughing in both the biosocial and sociocultural models. Individuals in the 21-30 age group (OR = 3.46, CI: 1.717-6.981) likewise those in the 31-40 age group (OR = 3.51, CI: 1.738-7.088) were, respectively, more likely to report coughing compared with individuals below 20 years old, possibly due to longer term exposure. There is some cumulative health disadvantage to individuals who reside in the contaminated environment although they do not necessarily work there suggesting the need for national environmental health policy to target them.