Respiratory Symptoms Associated with Workplaces Located along a Road with High-Traffic at Cotonou, Benin

Objective: Air pollution is becoming one of the public concerns requiring urgent feasible response per local context. Defining accurately the level of exposure of outdoor air pollution effect on health of venders working along main roads and roundabouts with high traffic is important. This study was conducted to assess respiratory health risks on venders associated with different geographical positions in Cotonou. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted along the main road with high traffic including three roundabouts in Cotonou. The 194 study participants from all shops, one respondent per shop, were given a unique GPS data associated to indicate the shop’s geographical position. The study employed validated questionnaire on respiratory symptoms. Results: Study participants had mean age of 36.26 (±11.65) years with sex ratio of (M/F) 1.8. Majority (72.7%) of study participates reported to have at least one respiratory symptom and 69% of them were working in non-ventilated rooms. The proportion of having at least one respiratory symptom was significantly different (p < 0.001) between the subpopulations at roundabouts (96.15%) and apart from the roundabouts (64.08%). The most reported symptoms were cough (47.94%) and itchy nose (42.27%). The risk of cough (OR = 5.15; 95% CI = [2.21 - 12.04]; p < 0.001) and itchy nose symptoms (OR = 3.44; 95% CI = [1.55 - 7.63]; p = 0.002) were higher in individuals working at the roundabouts compared to those working along the main road. Conclusion: Working in roundabout is associated with more respiratory symptoms than working in shops along main road. Air pollution mitigation efforts should focus in such settings, taking into account the sub-population of workers in resource limited countries.