Purpose: It is estimated that 19% of all cancers globally are attributable to the environment, including occupational settings. This paper will share the findings on characteristics of selected manufacturing employees in Malaysia who are occupationally exposed to carcinogenic agents.
Methods: A total of 1291 manufacturing employees were selected from the nationwide Health Screening Programme database of the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) to participate in this cross-sectional study. Advance invitation letters were posted to the selected employees before being called to participate in Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI). Exposure levels were determined using the Malaysian version of web-based automated expert assessment method (OccIDEAS). Exposure status was linked with participants' sociodemographic and occupational characteristics.
Results: Among 501 eligible respondents, 78.8% were occupationally exposed to at least one carcinogenic agent. Prevalence of exposure was the highest for α–chlorinated toluene (33.1%), diesel exhaust (31.5%) Environmental Tobacco Smoke (30.1%), graveyard shift work (11.6%) and other solvents (2.8-9.6%). Respondents from Malay and Bumiputera ethnicity and lower income group were more likely to be occupationally exposed to at least one carcinogenic agent. High level of exposure to at least one carcinogenic agent was significantly associated with being a non-smoker and working for more than nine years.
Conclusion: This study is an important addition to scientific literature in the area of occupational health epidemiology. Prevalence and differences in occupational exposure to carcinogenic agents across socioeconomic strata as observed indicate possible target areas for preventive actions or developing policy options to reduce cancer burden in the country.