respiratory health symptoms and lung function among road-side hawkers in serdang and its association with traffic-related exposures

background: the main objective of this study was to determine the respiratory health symptoms and lung function among roadside hawkers in serdang, malaysia and its association with traffic-related exposures. methods: this cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 60 roadside hawkers while 60 restaurant workers were included as the comparative group in 2015. a questionnaire was used to collect background information and symptoms of respiratory health. all participants performed lung function tests. personal exposure to traffic-related fine particulate matter (pm 2.5 ) and carbon dioxide (co) were performed among a representative group of workers. all statistical analysis was performed using spss version 22. results: the mean (standard deviation) pm 2.5 exposure among the roadside hawkers was 31.05 (1.62) μg/m 3 while the exposure among the comparative group was 19.41 (1.51) μg/m 3 ( p <0.05). the mean exposure level of co among the roadside hawkers was 2.42 (0.29) ppm compared to 1.51 (0.14) ppm among comparative group. fev1 (litres) (z=-1.96, p =0.04) of the exposed group was significantly lower than the comparative group. respiratory symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness, coughing and phlegm were significantly higher among exposed group ( p <0.05). there were significant associations between the reporting of wheezing with pm 2.5  (odds ratio, or=10.39, 95% confidence interval, ci=2.67-40.41), working duration (or=13.36, 95%ci=3.13- 57.03) and current smoking status (or=3.34, 95%ci=1.04-10.67). conclusion: roadside hawkers are exposed to high traffic-related pollutants, had reduced lung function, and are at risk for increased respiratory health symptoms. the study suggested the importance of preventive management for this specific group of workers.