Occupational Risks of Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa in Employees of the Caspian Sea Oil and Marine Transport Fleets of Azerbaijan

Introduction: Multiple occupational hazards persist in shipping, potentially posing the risk of diseases of the eye and adnexa.

Objective: To study the frequency and to assess risks of eye diseases in different occupational groups of employees of the Caspian Sea Oil Fleet and Marine Transport Fleet of Azerbaijan.

Materials and Methods: Results of periodic eye examinations of 1,787 employees of Marine Transport Fleet and 3,922 employees of the Caspian Sea Oil Fleet, both included in the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company, conducted in 2021–2023 were analyzed using Microsoft Excel.

Results: The common feature for the Marine Transport Fleet and Caspian Sea Oil Fleet is that their workers have significantly more eye diseases than coastal service employees. The frequency of eye disorders in crew members of the Caspian Sea Oil Fleet ranged from 247.1 ‰ in other workers to 411.7 ‰ in boatswains, the difference between these groups being statistically significant (р = 0.01). The highet rates of eye diseases were observed in the crane operators (95 % CI: 337.9 – 543.8 ‰), boatswains (95 % CI: 332.1 – 491.3 ‰), mechanics (95 % CI: 362.5 – 436.9 ‰), and motormen (95 % CI: 334.1 – 450.2 ‰).

Conclusions: The rate of eye disorders detected during routine health checkups among employees of the Caspian Sea Oil and Marine Transport Fleets of Azerbaijan does not differ significantly. Compared with coastal service workers, the incidence of eye diseases is high among crew members of the Marine Transport and Caspian Marine Oil Fleets.

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