A disease burden analysis of garment factory workers in Bangladesh: proposal for annual health screening

Background: To characterize the health status of selected garment and textile factory workers in Bangladesh using a workplace mobile health clinic. Methods: A retrospective review of de-identified worker health information was performed using 1906 medical records. Results: The mean age of the workers was 27.9 +/- 7.3 y, with 60.3% (1150/1906) female and 39.7% (756/1906) male workers. The most common medical conditions identified were anemia (19.0%; 362/1906), elevated BP (EBP) (11.9%; 226/1906) and elevated fasting blood glucose (FBG) (8.0%; 151/1906). Among the workers who had EBP, 86.3% (195/226) were previously undiagnosed, while out of the workers with elevated FBG, 72.8% (110/151) were newly diagnosed. Men were more likely than women to have EBP (OR 3.5, 95% CI [2.12-5.56], p<0.001), a family history of diabetes (OR 3.6, 95% CI [2.1-5.9], p<0.001) and no formal education (OR 4.9, 95% CI [3.6-6.7], p<0.001). Conclusions: Despite the relatively young mean age, significant percentages of workers were identified as having undiagnosed chronic health conditions, including EBP and elevated FBG, that require urgent medical attention and health education. The findings suggest that provision for annual health screening, either by mobile on-site clinics or by training the existing in-house paramedics, will help improve health of the factory workers.