Association between living in an e-waste recycling area and health effects among children in Buriram, Thailand

Abstract

Living in an e-waste recycling area could harm sensitive population like children to be exposed to toxic substances such as heavy metals and toxic chemicals. These can impact various systems of the children body. This work aimed to investigate association between living in e-waste recycling sites and children health effects in Buriram, the largest e-waste site in Thailand. This cross-sectional study analyzed 125,823 inpatient children records (aged 0 to 15 years old) from Buriram Hospital. A logistic regression model was fitted to investigate the association and adjusted odd ratio (AOR). The result showed statistically higher prevalence for 5 diseases in e-waste subdistricts and statistically confirmed the association and increased risk for neoplasms (AOR [95%CI] = 3.150 [1.722-5.761]), blood and immune diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 1.723 [1.303-2.279]), nervous system diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 2.033 [1.320-3.132]), eye diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 3.001 [1.596-5.643]) and genitourinary system diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 1.728 [1.149-2.599]). For young children (0-6 years old), we found statistically increased AORs for blood and immune mechanism diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 2.086 [1.442, 3.016]), nervous system diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 2.826 [1.694, 4.715]), eye diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 3.862 [1.708, 8.734]), skin diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 1.858 [1.058, 3.263]), musculoskeletal system diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 3.143 [1.164, 8.487]) and genitourinary system diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 1.947 [1.107, 3.422]). In middle age group (7-12 years old), the association was statistically confirmed for neoplasms (AOR [95%CI] = 5.890 [2.845, 12.195]) and eye diseases (AOR [95%CI] = 2.732 [1.001, 7.457]). For old children (13-15 years old.), significantly increased AORs were observed for digestive system disease (AOR [95%CI] = 2.051 [1.110-3.789]) and genitourinary system disease (AOR [95%CI] = 2.743 [1.214-6.199]). The findings confirmed the association between childhood living in an e-waste recycling area and greater risks of various disease. The young group are at a priority to reduce exposure through skin absorption, inhalation and digestion as spending almost 24 hours in home as an e-waste workplace. This work did not account for chemical exposure or other contaminant sources.