Occupational Health of the Garment Workers in Bangladesh

Background: In Bangladesh, garment workers comprise of both men and women of young age of which women are the majority. Occupational exposure to cotton dust, fibers, metal fumes and different chemicals used in the apparel manufacturing industries cause a wide range of physical and psychological health problems in the garment workers that have not been investigated.Objective: Considering the working environment as the source of individual exposure, we sought direct evidence for physical and psychological health problems of the men and women garment workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh.Methods: A total of 60 workers of two garment factories, and 50 control subjects, not exposed to the garment working environment, were enrolled in this study. Their self- reported occupational health problem(s) was recorded on preformed questionnaires that were analyzed to investigate occupation-related health problems.Results: About 73% of the garment workers suffered from skin rash and contact dermatitis, 52% had breathing complications and coughing while 33% had recurrent fever, all of which were significantly higher (p<0.001) than the control subjects who were in other occupations. Body pain, fatigue, headache, jaundice, anorexia and weakness were more prevalent in the garment workers than in the control subjects.Conclusion: This study, conducted on a small sample size, provides the first evidence of the occupational health problems in the garment workers in Bangladesh.