Occupational Health Risks and Disease Burden Linked to Arsenic Exposure in Leather Industry Workers

Abstract

Background: Arsenic exposure contributes to endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammatory injury, plausibly elevating risks of hypertension, respiratory disease, and other morbidities in industrial cohorts. Objective: To estimate the burden of common clinical conditions among tannery workers relative to non-exposed adults and quantify associations with occupational exposure. Methods: A cross-sectional comparison enrolled 40 Sialkot tannery workers and 40 community controls. Standardized interviews ascertained physician-diagnosed hypertension, asthma-compatible respiratory symptoms, skin allergy/dermatitis, activity-limiting joint pain, and kidney problems. Group differences used Fisher’s exact tests; odds ratios employed Haldane–Anscombe correction with profile-likelihood 95% CIs; penalized logistic models were prespecified for sparse outcomes. Results: Workers exhibited higher prevalence for respiratory symptoms (12.5% vs 0%; OR 12.55, 95% CI 0.67–235.01, p=0.055) and hypertension (10.0% vs 0%; OR 9.99, 95% CI 0.52–191.92, p=0.116), with smaller elevations for kidney problems (7.5%; OR 7.56, 95% CI 0.38–151.29), skin allergy (5.0%; OR 5.26, 95% CI 0.24–113.11), and joint pain (5.0%; OR 5.26, 95% CI 0.24–113.11). Confidence intervals were wide due to sparse events but directionally consistent across endpoints. Conclusion: Respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes show the most clinically relevant excess in tannery workers, supporting immediate emphasis on exposure reduction and targeted surveillance while larger longitudinal studies refine attributable risk.