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Epidemiological evidence from south Indian working population—the heat exposures and health linkage

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 31, pages 177–186 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Changing climate and rising temperatures are predicted to affect millions of workers due to heat stress risks, especially in tropical settings. We used a cross-sectional study design to profile the heat exposures of ~1500 workers from eight-industrial sectors using a QuesTemp wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) monitor, quantified the heat-strain indicators viz., rise in Core Body Temperature (CBT), Sweat Rate (SwR), and Urine Specific Gravity (USG) by standard methods and evaluated the health impacts of heat stress using a structured questionnaire. Heat exposures (Avg.WBGT: 28.4 ± 2.6 °C) exceeded the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for 70% of workers and was significantly associated with the rise in CBT >1 °C in 11.3% and elevated USG >1.020 in 10.5% of the workers. The heat-exposed workers had 2.3 times higher odds of reporting adverse health outcomes (84%) compared to the unexposed workers (95% CI: 1.74–3.19; p value ≤ 0.0001). Mild reduction in kidney function observed in 49% of salt - pan workers, and a high prevalence of kidney stones (33%) among the 91 steelworkers subjected to kidney ultrasound had a significant association with chronic high WBGT exposure above the TLV (p value < 0.034). Further, in-depth assessments are warranted to develop strategies for interventions and protective labor policies to avert adverse occupational health and productivity consequences for millions of workers globally, especially in the rising temperature scenario.

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Fig. 1: The measured workersʼ WBGT exposures in various occupations with TLV levels of safe work for different work categories.

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Acknowledgements

The authors highly acknowledge and thank the Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai for providing us this platform for carrying out the work. The authors are also grateful to the management of the various workplaces for their kind cooperation and support to conduct the study.

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Funding from Department of Science and Technology is highly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Public Health, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

    Vidhya Venugopal, P. K. Latha, Rekha Shanmugam, Manikandan Krishnamoorthy & R. Omprashanth

  2. Department of Public Health and Community Medicine/Section of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Robin Lennqvist

  3. Department of Physiology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

    Priscilla Johnson

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  1. Vidhya Venugopal
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Contributions

VV conceived of scope and contributed to writing and editing. PKL, RL, RS supported in data collection, consolidation, analysis, writing, and editing. MK, RO supported in data collection and consolidation & Priscilla Johnson contributed to writing and editing.

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Correspondence to Vidhya Venugopal.

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Venugopal, V., Latha, P.K., Shanmugam, R. et al. Epidemiological evidence from south Indian working population—the heat exposures and health linkage. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 31, 177–186 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-020-00261-w

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