Abstract:
ABSTRACT
Background: Tanzania 30-50% are women involved in mining activities, normally use mercury to recover gold from the ores. This practice may cause a wide range of health impacts including reproductive defects in reproductive hormones and an ovulation which may result to menstrual disorders in women working in artisanal and small scale gold mining.
Objective: The study aimed to assess occupational exposure to mercury and associated menstrual disorders among women working in artisanal and small scale gold mining in Nyang’hwale District, Geita, Tanzania.
Materials and methods: The study was a cross sectional study design. Simple random sampling technique was used to obtain 170 of women working in ASGM and 99 of women were primary school teachers. Data on the proportion of menstrual disorders were collected using face to face administered questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Chi square test and Binary logistic regression were performed for association between mercury exposure and menstrual disorders. 95% confidence Interval expressed in P = 0.05 or P˂0.05, was used. CVAAS was used to analyze mercury concentration level in urine.
Results: The mean Age of the participants was 33.6 ± SD and the mean of menarche age was 15.26 ± SD. The proportion of menstrual disorders in the exposed group was significant higher than that in the non exposed group (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.160 – 1. 876 and P= 0.001). The proportion of menstrual disorders in exposed group was (67%) and non exposed group (46%). The proportion of dysmenorrhea in the exposed group was found statistically significant higher than that in the non exposed group (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.579 – 4.489 and P= 0.0001) and the proportion was (38%). The mean mercury levels in urine were 41.3ug/l for exposed group and 2.04ug/l for non exposed group. Out of 21 urine samples, 6 (29%) exceeded the Maximum World Health Organization (WHO) acceptable level of 50 ug/l.
Conclusion and recommendation: The findings generalized that women who are exposed to occupational mercury have higher risk to report the problems of menstrual disorders. The district council stakeholders should create awareness to mining community, that mercury used for amalgamation process to extract gold may be associated with menstrual disorders and other reproductive health defects among women working or living nearby the mining areas.
