Abstract:
Introduction: Occupational respiratory symptoms are manifestations of respiratory diseases because of exposure to dust
or chemicals such as asbestos, silicon and aluminium in the workplace like cement factory, tannery, textile and/or street
sweeping, all of which affect the health condition and productivity. In Ethiopia, several primary studies were conducted
regarding the magnitude of occupational respiratory symptoms with the prevalence of 68.89% in street sweepers and
associated factors with inconsistent results. This meta-analysis aimed to pool the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and
their associated factors among Ethiopian adults working in different workplaces.
Methods: PubMed, African Journals Online, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and Direct Google were systematically
searched to identify primary studies. Two authors performed data abstraction and quality assessment for each included
study independently. Cochran’s Q-statistic and I2 (I-squared) statistic were used to check heterogeneity. DerSimonian and
Laird random-effects models were used to estimate the pooled prevalence and associated factors of respiratory symptoms.
Publication bias was checked by funnel plot and Egger’s test, and also sensitivity analyses were performed.
Results: Ten primary studies with 3441 study participants were included for the narrative synthesis and meta-analysis of
the pooled prevalence of occupational respiratory symptoms. The pooled prevalence of overall occupational respiratory
symptom was 54.58% (95% CI: 45.37–63.79). Dry cough was the most encountered respiratory symptom [34.93, 95% CI:
29.52–40.35], followed by breathlessness [28.67%, 95% CI: 20.13–37.22]. Work experience of over 5years [OR = 2.24, 95%
CI: 1.21–4.16] and educational level of Grade 8 and lower [OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.06–1.55] were significantly associated with
occupational respiratory symptoms.
Conclusion: In this review, the pooled prevalence of occupational respiratory symptoms was high. The findings of this study
dictate the need for the implementation of workplace safety measures. Special attention is required to employees with lower
educational level and longer duration of work experience.
Prospero registration: CRD42020176826
