Asbestos knowledge and awareness level in central part of Anatolia

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos knowledge and awareness level in central part of Anatolia, by S. Metintas, G. Ak, F. Bogar, et al (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2017).

The study

• Authors: S. Metintas, G. Ak, F. Bogar, S. Yilmaz, M. Metintas
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 2017;23(3):243-249
• Cited by: 5 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Background Asbestos-contaminated soil has been used by people for many years in the rural part of Anatolia. However, there is no program to control usage of asbestos in this region. Objective To determine the knowledge and awareness level about asbestos in a region where asbestos-related diseases are endemic due to environmental exposure to asbestos in the rural setting. Methods This study included 760 participants, recruited using non-probability sampling, who were classified into four groups according to residence and asbestos exposure type (urban, rural; asbestos-exposed, asbestos-unexposed). Asbestos knowledge and awareness was measured via the Asbestos Knowledge and Awareness Questionnaire (AKAQ). The cut-off value of questionnaire was determined by the K-means cluster analysis for sufficient and insufficient knowledge and awareness level. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine independent factors affecting sufficient knowledge and awareness of participants about asbestos. Results The median and mean score of the AKAQ in study group were 30 and 33.9, respectively. The urban asbestos-exposed group had a higher score than the urban asbestos-unexposed and both rural groups (p < 0.001). Factors affecting asbestos knowledge and awareness were education status (p = 0.035), asbestos exposure (p = 0.003) and living in the rural area (p = 0.005). Sufficient knowledge and awareness (score > 45) was higher among participants who had graduated from university and had asbestos exposure. Insufficient knowledge and awareness level was higher among participants living in rural areas. Conclusion In this region of Anatolia, knowledge and awareness level of asbestos was low among people at risk for environmental asbestos exposure. People should be aware of asbestos and its hazards by a well-designed training program and be monitored for asbestos-related diseases.

In plain English

This study surveyed 760 people in Eskisehir, Central Anatolia, Turkey. In the rural part of this region, villagers have long used asbestos-contaminated "white soil" as whitewash and plaster for their houses. Participants were patients or their relatives attending a university chest diseases department, chosen without random sampling. People with occupational asbestos exposure were excluded. Participants were grouped by urban or rural residence and by whether they had been exposed to asbestos, and they completed a 19-item questionnaire on asbestos knowledge and awareness. The median score was 30 and the mean 33.9, on a scale running from 19 to 57. The urban asbestos-exposed group scored higher than the other three groups. Between 17.5% and 37% of each group scored above 45, the cut-off for sufficient knowledge. Across the groups, 11.7% to 23.8% correctly answered that white soil includes asbestos, and 76.7% of participants answered the malignant mesothelioma item incorrectly. In a statistical model, education and asbestos exposure were linked to higher odds of sufficient knowledge, and rural residence to lower odds. The authors concluded that knowledge and awareness were low among people at risk of environmental asbestos exposure. They called for training programs and for monitoring for asbestos-related diseases.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Questionnaire survey of participants recruited by non-probability (non-random) sampling, compared across four residence and exposure groups
• Who was studied: 760 adults who were patients or their relatives at the Chest Diseases Department of Eskisehir Osmangazi University Medical Faculty, Eskisehir, Central Anatolia, Turkey. Groups: urban asbestos-unexposed (n = 298), urban asbestos-exposed (n = 265), rural asbestos-unexposed (n = 60) and rural asbestos-exposed (n = 137). People with occupational asbestos exposure were excluded. Dates of data collection are not given.
• Exposure: Environmental (non-occupational) asbestos exposure at some point in life, in a region where asbestos-contaminated soil called "white soil" is used as whitewash and plaster for houses and as roof and furnace insulation. No fiber type is named for this region.
• Main results:
  • For the whole study population, the median AKAQ score was 30 (range 19 to 56) and the mean was 33.9 (SD 11.9).
  • The urban asbestos-exposed group scored higher than the urban asbestos-unexposed group and both rural groups (p < 0.001). Median scores were 31 (urban unexposed), 38 (urban exposed), 24 (rural unexposed) and 25 (rural exposed).
  • Sufficient knowledge and awareness (score above 45) was present in 31.5% of the urban asbestos-unexposed group, 37% of the urban asbestos-exposed group, 18.3% of the rural asbestos-unexposed group and 17.5% of the rural asbestos-exposed group.
  • Correct answers to 'White soil includes asbestos': 14.4% of the urban unexposed group, 23.8% of the urban exposed group, 11.7% of the rural unexposed group and 14.6% of the rural exposed group.
  • 76.7% of participants answered the item on asbestos and mesothelioma incorrectly.
  • The items most often answered incorrectly were about occupational uses of asbestos (roofing material, shipbuilding, construction material), diffuse pleural thickening and malignant mesothelioma.
  • In multiple logistic regression, the factors linked to sufficient knowledge were education status (p = 0.035), asbestos exposure (p = 0.003) and living in the rural area (p = 0.005).
  • Odds ratios for sufficient knowledge: asbestos exposure 1.748 (95% CI 1.209 to 2.527); education 1.293 (95% CI 1.018 to 1.642); residence 0.658 (95% CI 0.490 to 0.883). The authors state that rural residents had lower odds than urban residents.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that in this region of Anatolia, knowledge and awareness of asbestos was low among people at risk of environmental asbestos exposure. They stated that people should be made aware of asbestos and its hazards through a well-designed training program and be monitored for asbestos-related diseases.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors could not compare their results with other studies because they found no similar studies.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Endemic, Environmental Exposure, Asbestos Exposure.

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