Prevalence of Respiratory Disorders among Petrol Pump Workers: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

Objectives: Gas station workers who are continuously exposed to gasoline/diesel smoke, are at high risk of causing respiratory problems. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of respiratory disorders in gas station workers in Erbil City, Iraq. Methods: All (146) of the petroleum outlets in Erbil City overseen by the Ministry of Natural Resources were the subject of this cross-sectional descriptive study. A researcher-made checklist with four sections-Socio-demographic characteristics, a checklist of respiratory disorders' signs and symptoms to evaluate the frequency of respiratory symptoms, auscultation of the chest to evaluate any abnormal breath sounds, and peak flow meter to evaluate peak expiratory flow rate-was used to gather data. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: Most of the employees (54.1%) were between the ages of 23 and 27 and were unmarried (65.5%). The most frequent symptoms were listed in the symptoms part as a common cough, typically clear-out sputum when awake, loss of breath when walking quickly on a level surface or when ascending a moderate incline, and a wheezing sound in your chest. Wheezing was detected in 189 of the employees (37.7%), while rhonchi was detected in 71 (14.2%). Conclusion: Gas station workers in Erbil are exposed to gasoline and vapors produced while filling cars and smoke from cars. It was also proven that workers used poor protective measures despite their knowledge of the adverse health effects of gasoline.