Health Status among Biscuit Factory Workers in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Today the trend in all countries is towards industrialization. As industries are developing, occupational diseases are becoming more prominent. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see the effect of different environmental hazards like sugar dust, flour dust, vibratory sieves, effect of ammonia, skin diseases of oven operators, cuts and burns at mixing section, effect of noises at mixers, compressors, generators, blowers of ovens etc. on the health status of the biscuit factory workers. Objective of the Study: To study the socio-demographic and health profile of the employees and to find the association between the various hazards and risk factors. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was done among the factory workers of Anmol Biscuit factory, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. A sample size of 250 was taken by simple randomization. Duration of study was for one month from 1st June to 1st July, 2014. Pre validated semi open ended questionnaire was used for data collection. The performa included information about socio demographic profile, present health status, nutritional status, general physical examination, anthropometric measurements and systematic examination. Results: Among all the occupational hazards, thermal hazard was the most common (20%) and association between thermal hazards and use of protective equipment is statistically significant (Chi-square 0.029, P value < 0.05, at 1 d.f.). The associations between duration of the employment and types of hazards have found to be statistically insignificant (P value > 0.05 at 2 d.f.). Conclusion: Most of the biscuit factory authorities do not invest much in the safety measures and protective equipment for their workers. These short term benefits might prove counterproductive in a long term.