Features of Etiopathogenesis of Pneumoconiosis and Chronic Bronchitis in Workers of Dusty Occupations at Enterprises in the Arctic

Introduction: Despite periodic medical examinations, improvement of working conditions and personal protective equipment, pneumoconiosis is still diagnosed in workers of dusty occupations.
Objective: To compare conditions and circumstances of development, as well as the prevalence rates of pneumoconiosis and chronic bronchitis in workers in dusty occupations at enterprises in the Arctic.
Materials and methods: We studied public health monitoring data on working conditions and occupational diseases and information about 10,343 cases in the register of extracts from occupational disease registration cards (Order No. 176 of the Russian Ministry of Health of dated May 28, 2001) for 2007–2023. To achieve the goal, the main (pneumoconiosis) and reference (chronic bronchitis) observation groups were formed. Microsoft Excel 2016, Epi Info 6.04d, and Statistica 12 were used for statistical data analysis with the Student's t-test, goodness-of-fit test (χ2), and calculation of the relative risk (RR), 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI), and approximation coefficient (R2).
Results: In 2007–2021, 77 cases of pneumoconiosis were detected. Its development was more likely in men having class 3.3 working conditions, due to imperfect technological processes and during the extraction of ore raw materials. No decrease in the number of pneumoconiosis cases was noted over 15 years despite the decreasing number of exposed workers. We established significant differences in the conditions and circumstances of the development of pneumoconiosis and chronic bronchitis (n = 823), the number of cases of which decreased in 2007–2021 mainly due to a smaller exposed workforce. The risk of pneumoconiosis in 2007–2021 did not change (OR = 1.12; 95 % CI: 0.66–1.92), while that of chronic bronchitis in 2001–2011 was higher than in 2017–2021 (OR = 3.28; 95 % CI: 2.64-4.06).
Conclusion: No decrease in the number of pneumoconiosis cases was observed in 2007–2021, which necessities reduction of workers’ exposure to fibrogenic aerosols, compliance with the regulations for periodic medical examinations, and the study the pathogenetic mechanisms of development of lung diseases in the current occupational setting. Newly diagnosed cases of pneumoconiosis should be investigated by a commission of expert occupational pathologists.

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