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Environmental determinants of health care use for respiratory, cardiac and dermatologic diseases in Cotonou (Benin) Volume 21, issue 2, March-April 2022

Tables

Authors
1 Institut régional de santé publique Comlan Alfred Quenum
Département santé environnement
Université d’Abomey-Calavi
BP 384 Ouidah, Bénin
2 Communauté de pratique écosanté et santé humaine en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre
01BP188 Cotonou, Bénin
3 Centre de recherche en santé environnementale et santé au travail
École de santé publique
1070 Bruxelles
Belgique
4 Département des sciences de la santé environnementale
École de santé publique de l’université du Michigan
Réseau GEOHealthAnn Arbor
États-Unis
5 Département des sciences biologiques de l’environnement et de la santé au travail
École de santé publique
Réseau GEOHealth d’Afrique de l’Ouest
Université du Ghana
Ghana
* Tirés à part

Very few studies have analyzed the determinants of diseases related to air pollution in West Africa. Here we examine healthcare utilization for diseases associated with exposure to air pollution.

Undertaken over six waves from June 2016 to February 2019, this cross-sectional study involved three primary health centers in an air pollution hotspot in Cotonou, the largest city and economic capital of Benin. Healthcare utilization data were collected with a validated standardized questionnaire. In all, 7609 patients were surveyed. SPSS software v.20.0.0 was used to run multivariate logistic regressions to identify factors associated with this utilization.

Common factors associated with respiratory, cardiac and dermatological diseases were residence near a high traffic road, age and dry season. Specific associated factors for respiratory diseases were residence in an area far from the hotspot and work in an enclosed, ventilated space; for cardiac diseases, a workplace located in the hotspot and length of residence there of 10–19 years; for dermatological diseases, non-Beninese nationality.

The important proportion of health conditions related to air pollution suggests the need for public health interventions to prevent their future occurrence.