Table 1 Demographic characteristics, perception of dangerous PSI level and availability of N-95 masks, physical symptoms and psychological stress of the haze crisis (n = 298)
Item | Total sample (N = 298) | Men (120) | Women (178) | p-value | Perceived dangerous PSI value < 250 (178) | Perceived dangerous PSI value > =250 (120) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N% | N% | N% | N% | N% | |||
Age | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
• 18–29 (210) | 210(70.5) | 82(71.9) | 128(68.3) | 0.507 | 126(71.2) | 84(70.0) | 0.826 |
• 30–69 (88) | 88(29.5) | 38(28.1) | 50(31.7) |  | 51(28.8) | 36(30.0) |  |
Ethnicity | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
• Chinese | 260(87.2) | 99(82.5) | 161(90.4) | 0.044 | 164(92.1) | 96(80.0) | 0.002 |
• Indian, Malay, other ethnicities | 38(12.8) | 21(17.5) | 17(9.6) |  | 14(7.9) | 24(20.0) |  |
Marital status | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
• Married | 71(23.8) | 31(25.8) | 40(22.5) | 0.297 | 39(21.9) | 32(26.7) | 0.345 |
• Others: Single, divorced, widow | 227(76.2) | 89(74.2) | 138(77.5) |  | 139(78.1) | 88(73.3) |  |
Occupation | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
• Students | 150(50.3) | 65(54.2) | 85(47.7) | 0.486 | 88(49.4) | 62(51.7) | 0.893 |
• Working indoor | 66(22.2) | 23(19.2) | 43(24.2) |  | 41(23.1) | 25(20.8) |  |
• Working outdoor | 82(27.5) | 32(26.6) | 50(28.1) |  | 49(27.5) | 33(27.5) |  |
Presence of chronic medical illness | 20(7.3) | 8(7.2) | 12(7.4) | 0.950 | 13(8.0) | 7(6.4) | 0.616 |
Personal possession of N—95 mask |  |  |  |  |  | \ |  |
• Inadequate –very inadequate | 194(66.0) | 72(61.0) | 122(69.3) | 0.141 | 117(67.2) | 77(64.2) | 0.584 |
• Just enough – very adequate | 100(34.0) | 46(39.0) | 54(30.7) |  | 57(32.8) | 43(35.8) |  |
Perceived usefulness of N-95 mask | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
• Useless – absolutely useless | 15(5.1) | 11(9.4) | 4(2.3) | 0.007 | 9(5.1) | 6(5.1) | 0.996 |
• Of some use – extremely useful | 278(94.9) | 106(90.6) | 172(97.7) |  | 167(94.9) | 111(94.9) |  |
Physical symptoms | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Mental slowing | 82(27.5) | 40(33.3) | 42(23.6) | 0.065 | 53(29.8) | 29(24.2) | 0.288 |
Headache | 150(50.3) | 90(50.6) | 60(50.0) | 0.924 | 97(54.5) | 53(44.2) | 0.080 |
Dizziness | 74(24.8) | 25(20.8) | 49(27.5) | 0.190 | 51(28.7) | 23(19.2) | 0.063 |
Eye discomfort | 181(60.7) | 63(52.5) | 118(66.3) | 0.017 | 111(62.4) | 70(58.3) | 0.485 |
Nose discomfort | 191(64.1) | 84(70.0) | 107(60.1) | 0.081 | 122(68.5) | 69(57.5) | 0.051 |
Mouth or throat discomfort | 205(68.8) | 78(65.0) | 127(71.3) | 0.246 | 135(75.8) | 70(58.3) | 0.001 |
Breathing difficulty | 120(40.3) | 42(35.0) | 78(43.8) | 0.128 | 71(39.9) | 49(40.8) | 0.870 |
Heart pain or chest pain | 32(10.7) | 16(9.0) | 16(9.0) | 0.235 | 24(13.5) | 8(6.7) | 0.062 |
Nausea or vomiting | 30(10.1) | 17(9.6) | 13(10.8) | 0.718 | 24(13.5) | 6(5.0) | 0.017 |
Gastric or abdominal discomfort | 48(16.1) | 16(13.3) | 32(18.0) | 0.285 | 32(18.0) | 16(13.3) | 0.285 |
Slowness in movement | 51(17.1) | 20(16.7) | 31(17.4) | 0.866 | 34(19.1) | 17(14.2) | 0.267 |
Muscle ache or pain | 38(12.8) | 15(12.5) | 23(12.9) | 0.915 | 19(10.7) | 19(15.8) | 0.190 |
Total number of physical symptoms | 4.03(2.60) | 3.93(2.74) | 4.10(2.51) | 0.586 | 4.34(2.61) | 3.58(2.53) | 0.012 |
Psychological stress | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Mean avoidance score mean ± (SD) | 0.71(0.50) | 0.70(0.52) | 0.71(0.49) | 0.779 | 0.71(0.47) | 0.70(0.55) | 0.779 |
Mean intrusion score mean ± (SD) | 0.96(0.63) | 0.94(0.62) | 0.98(0.64) | 0.671 | 1.03(0.63) | 0.87(0.61) | 0.029 |
Mean hyper-arousal score mean ± (SD) | 0.85(0.74) | 0.84(0.74) | 0.86(0.75) | 0.889 | 0.94(0.73) | 0.72(0.76) | 0.013 |
Total mean IES-R score mean ± (SD) | 0.84(0.53) | 0.84(0.74) | 0.85(0.53) | 0.740 | 0.89(0.51) | 0.77(0.56) | 0.047 |
Total IES-R score mean + (SD) | 18.47(11.69) | 18.19(11.73) | 18.65(11.69) | 0.740 | 19.57(11.18) | 16.83(12.27) | 0.047 |