Lung Function, Respiratory Symptoms, Skin Problems and Chemical Exposures - A Cross-Sectional Occupational Health Study among Female Hairdressers in Hebron City, Palestine

Background Hairdressers are exposed to chemicals and work tasks which may be harmful to their health. Studies have shown that this group of working women have a high incidence of both asthma and skin problems. The information on the prevalence of respiratory and skin symptoms caused by (reactive) chemicals used in hairdressing salons is limited. Most previous studies have been done in Europe and other developed countries. So there is a need of similar studies from developing countries to describe the occurrence and severity of respiratory and skin problems among hairdressers, and to investigate the associated factors. A study on the health situation in the hairdressing salons in Palestine will contribute to increased awareness about occupational health risks in the country. Objectives The main objective of the present study was to assess respiratory symptoms, respiratory effects and skin health problems among female hairdressers in Hebron City, Palestine. The specific objectives were to study work conditions in the salons and investigate the knowledge among hairdressers about their exposure and potential adverse health effects of their occupation. Another specific objective was to give preliminary estimates of the association between exposure at work and those health problems. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted, using random sampling procedure, and including 170 (87% response) female hairdressers working in 56 salons in Hebron City. The participants filled in a modified version of an internationally accepted questionnaire which collected information about working history, health status and knowledge. Lung function test was performed and a checklist was filled in by the researcher for each salon, describing the conditions and chemicals being used. Results The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was as follow; 19% for wheezing, 31% for tightness in the chest, 25% for shortness of breathe, 17% for coughing and 22% for phlegm. Asthma prevalence was 5.9% and hand dermatitis was 13.5%. The mean FVC was 3.31 liters (SD = 0.44) which was 96.5% of predicted as compared to European standards. For FEV1, the mean value was 2.74 liters (SD = 0.60) which was 92.4% of predicted value of the European standards. Preliminary crude analyses showed, for some of the end points, significantly more self-reported respiratory symptoms among the group of hairdressers with high exposure level as compared to lower exposure level, and lower mean of the main two lung function measurements (FVC and FEV1). Little knowledge was found among the hairdressers about the chemicals they are using and its harmful effect on their health. However, high percent (74%) of the ones with hand dermatitis linked this problem to their work conditions. Conclusion Our study showed that female hairdressers in Hebron City, Palestine are exposed to chemicals that might have adverse effects on their health and that the health symptoms were worse among the highly exposed group with higher intensity of work. However, association between exposure and outcome should be further analyzed with multivariate techniques. There is clearly a need of increasing the awareness of occupational health hazards, as the knowledge was limited in this sample of female hairdressers. More research is needed in this field and more follow up studies would be useful to investigate the effect of exposure on health among this group of workers. Key words Hairdressing, occupational health, occupational asthma, hand dermatitis, chemical exposures. Source of financing This study was funded by NUFU "Building Competence in Epidemiology in Palestine- Pro 50-2002"