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Respiratory and allergic health effects in a young population in proximity of a major industrial park in Oman

BACKGROUND: Sohar industrial zone (SIZ), Oman, which started operating in 2006, contains many industries that potentially affect the health of the local population. This study's aim was to evaluate the health effects in a young population living near SIZ. METHODS: Patient visits to state health...

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Autores principales: Alwahaibi, Adil, Zeka, Ariana
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BMJ Publishing Group 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4752616/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26359504
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2015-205609
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author Alwahaibi, Adil
Zeka, Ariana
author_facet Alwahaibi, Adil
Zeka, Ariana
author_sort Alwahaibi, Adil
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Sohar industrial zone (SIZ), Oman, which started operating in 2006, contains many industries that potentially affect the health of the local population. This study's aim was to evaluate the health effects in a young population living near SIZ. METHODS: Patient visits to state health clinics for acute respiratory diseases (ARD), asthma, conjunctivitis and dermatitis were obtained for the period of 2006 to 2010, for children ages <20 years old, for two large provinces around SIZ. Three exposure zones were defined on the basis of the distance from SIZ determined as: ≤5, >5 to 10, ≥20 km to represent high, intermediate and control exposure zones, respectively. Age-specific and gender-specific monthly counts of visits were modelled using generalised additive models controlling for time trends. The high and intermediate exposure zones were later combined together due to the similarity of associations. Exposure effect modification by age, gender and socioeconomic status (SES) was also tested. RESULTS: Living within 10 km from SIZ showed a greater association with ARD (risk ratio (RR)=2.5; 95% CI=2.3 to 2.7), asthma (RR=3.7; 95% CI=3.1 to 4.5), conjunctivitis (RR=3.1; 95% CI=2.9 to 3.5) and dermatitis (RR=2.7; 95% CI=2.5 to 3.0) when compared with the control zone. No differences in associations were found for gender and SES groups; greater effects were noticed in the ≤14-year-old group for asthma. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study conducted in Oman to examine the health effects of a young population living near an industrial park. We hope that these findings will contribute in future developments of environmental health policies in Oman.
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spelling pubmed-47526162016-02-21 Respiratory and allergic health effects in a young population in proximity of a major industrial park in Oman Alwahaibi, Adil Zeka, Ariana J Epidemiol Community Health Other Topics BACKGROUND: Sohar industrial zone (SIZ), Oman, which started operating in 2006, contains many industries that potentially affect the health of the local population. This study's aim was to evaluate the health effects in a young population living near SIZ. METHODS: Patient visits to state health clinics for acute respiratory diseases (ARD), asthma, conjunctivitis and dermatitis were obtained for the period of 2006 to 2010, for children ages <20 years old, for two large provinces around SIZ. Three exposure zones were defined on the basis of the distance from SIZ determined as: ≤5, >5 to 10, ≥20 km to represent high, intermediate and control exposure zones, respectively. Age-specific and gender-specific monthly counts of visits were modelled using generalised additive models controlling for time trends. The high and intermediate exposure zones were later combined together due to the similarity of associations. Exposure effect modification by age, gender and socioeconomic status (SES) was also tested. RESULTS: Living within 10 km from SIZ showed a greater association with ARD (risk ratio (RR)=2.5; 95% CI=2.3 to 2.7), asthma (RR=3.7; 95% CI=3.1 to 4.5), conjunctivitis (RR=3.1; 95% CI=2.9 to 3.5) and dermatitis (RR=2.7; 95% CI=2.5 to 3.0) when compared with the control zone. No differences in associations were found for gender and SES groups; greater effects were noticed in the ≤14-year-old group for asthma. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study conducted in Oman to examine the health effects of a young population living near an industrial park. We hope that these findings will contribute in future developments of environmental health policies in Oman. BMJ Publishing Group 2016-02 2015-09-10 /pmc/articles/PMC4752616/ /pubmed/26359504 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2015-205609 Text en Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/ This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
spellingShingle Other Topics
Alwahaibi, Adil
Zeka, Ariana
Respiratory and allergic health effects in a young population in proximity of a major industrial park in Oman
title Respiratory and allergic health effects in a young population in proximity of a major industrial park in Oman
title_full Respiratory and allergic health effects in a young population in proximity of a major industrial park in Oman
title_fullStr Respiratory and allergic health effects in a young population in proximity of a major industrial park in Oman
title_full_unstemmed Respiratory and allergic health effects in a young population in proximity of a major industrial park in Oman
title_short Respiratory and allergic health effects in a young population in proximity of a major industrial park in Oman
title_sort respiratory and allergic health effects in a young population in proximity of a major industrial park in oman
topic Other Topics
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4752616/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26359504
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2015-205609
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