Sex-related Features of Occupational Pathology in Russia (the Murmansk Region as an Example)

Introduction: Effective prevention of occupational pathology requires maximum consideration of all its features of formation and clinical picture, including gender differences.

Objective: Gender features of occupational health disorders in enterprise workers of the Murmansk Region.

Materials and Methods: Causes, structure, and prevalence of occupational diseases in men and women were compared taking into account their working conditions, age, years of employment, and type of economic activity. The source of information included the program of Rospotrebnadzor public health surveillance in the section “Working conditions and occupational diseases” and the registry of occupational diseases of the Murmansk Region for 2003–2023. The dynamics of indicators was studied by three time spans: 2003–2009, 2010–2016, and 2017–2023.

Results: In 2003–2023, 57.1 % of male workers in the Murmansk Region were exposed to occupational hazards and

86.2 % of all occupational diseases were also registered in the male workforce. For women, these figures were 42.9 % and 13.8 %, respectively. Compared with women, men had a higher risk of developing pathology (OR = 5.3; CI: 4.72–5.95) and a higher rate of occupational morbidity: 26.69 vs 5.68 cases per 10,000 workers with harmful working conditions. Men and women had significant differences in the structure of pathology, prevalence of diseases, and results of preventive work. Among the unresolved issues, the growing incidence of malignant neoplasms and radiculopathies in men and women, and vibration disease in men, require priority attention. An increase in age and years of employment at the initial detection of pathology is accompanied by the formation of occupational multimorbidity in both men and women.

Conclusion: The obtained data can be used to determine priority goals in preventive programs that also take into account the gender characteristics of occupational pathology.

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