Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0018681 (headache)
 56,091 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In India, 110 boys, 6-13 years old, working in 23 carpet-weaving factories within a 2 km perimeter of the walls around Jaipur in Rajasthan were compared with 290 age- and neighborhood-matched male students (controls) to determine the health and nutritional status of the child laborers. The cases had worked nonstop for most days of the month for the past 6 months. They had been employed, on average, for 3.4 years (range, 0.5-6.5). They worked 10-14 hours/day and were allowed at least one short tea break. Common working conditions included overcrowding (20/23 factories), improper ventilation, and poor lighting (particularly in basement factories). The boys either squatted or crouched for long hours. Good personal hygiene was more common among the students than the weavers (94.8% vs. 76.4%). In all age groups except the 6-7 year and 7-8 year groups, the students had greater weight and height than the weavers (p 0.05) (e.g., 13-14 years, height = 146.9 vs. 139.9 cm; weight = 32.5 vs. 28.9 kg). They even had a bigger chest circumference (p 0.05) (e.g., 13-14 years, 62.3 vs. 58.8 cm). The weavers were more likely than the students to suffer from headaches (34.2% vs. 15.9%; p 0.001), backache (18.2% vs. 5.9%; p 0.001), lower limb pains (15.5% vs. 5.2%; p 0.001), and acute respiratory infections (26.4% vs. 15.2%; p 0.005). They were also more likely to have signs of nutritional deficiency (conjunctival pallor; angular stomatitis; Bitot's spots; lusterless hair; Koilonychia nails; and spongy gums). The controls were more likely to be immunized than the cases. These findings reveal that carpet weaving takes a heavy toll on the health status of the child laborers. They need frequent medical care.
 ...
PMID:Health status of carpet weaving children. 787 89