Occupational health research in India

Our plain-English summary of Occupational health research in India, by H.N. Saiyed, R.R. Tiwari (Industrial Health, 2004).

The study

• Authors: H.N. Saiyed, R.R. Tiwari
• Journal: Industrial Health
• Published: 2004;42(2):141-8
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 33 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

India being a developing nation is faced with traditional public health problems like communicable diseases, malnutrition, poor environmental sanitation and inadequate medical care. However, globalization and rapid industrial growth in the last few years has resulted in emergence of occupational health related issues. Agriculture (cultivators i.e. land owners + agriculture labourers) is the main occupation in India giving employment to about 58% of the people. The major occupational diseases/morbidity of concern in India are silicosis, musculo-skeletal injuries, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, chronic obstructive lung diseases, asbestosis, byssinosis, pesticide poisoning and noise induced hearing loss. There are many agencies like National Institute of Occupational Health, Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Central Labour Institute, etc. are working on researchable issues like Asbestos and asbestos related diseases, Pesticide poisoning, Silica related diseases other than silicosis and Musculoskeletal disorders. Still much more is to be done for improving the occupational health research. The measures such as creation of advanced research facilities, human resources development, creation of environmental and occupational health cells and development of database and information system should be taken.

In plain English

This was a review article by two authors from India's National Institute of Occupational Health. It described occupational health and occupational health research in India. Using the 2001 census, the authors reported that agriculture employed about 58% of working people. They listed the main occupational diseases of concern in India, including silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, byssinosis, pesticide poisoning and noise induced hearing loss. They also gathered prevalence figures from earlier studies by their institute. In those earlier studies, asbestosis prevalence was 11% in asbestos mine and mill workers, 9% in asbestos textile workers and 3 to 5% in asbestos cement workers. The review does not say how many workers were examined. The authors noted that asbestos was still used in India, mainly in the cement industry. They reported that research was under way on permissible workplace levels of asbestos fibres and on the scientific evidence for banning asbestos in India. The authors concluded that much more needed to be done, and they recommended advanced research facilities, training, occupational health cells and a national database.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Review article describing occupational health status and research activities in India
• Who was studied: India's working population and occupational health research institutions, described mainly using 2001 census data and earlier National Institute of Occupational Health studies
• Exposure: Many occupational hazards, including asbestos in mining and milling, asbestos textile and asbestos cement industries, silica, coal dust, cotton and jute dust, pesticides and noise. Fiber types are not specified in the asbestos discussion.
• Main results:
  • Agriculture (cultivators and agricultural labourers) employed about 58% of people in India, according to the 2001 census.
  • The authors named the major occupational diseases or morbidity of concern in India: silicosis, musculo-skeletal injuries, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, chronic obstructive lung diseases, asbestosis, byssinosis, pesticide poisoning and noise induced hearing loss.
  • Table 2 compiles earlier National Institute of Occupational Health studies. It gives asbestosis prevalence of 11% in asbestos mine and mill workers, 9% in asbestos textile workers and 3 to 5% in asbestos cement workers. No denominators are given.
  • According to the review, earlier National Institute of Occupational Health studies found a high prevalence of asbestosis in asbestos mining and milling, asbestos textile and asbestos cement industries. Research on permissible levels of asbestos fibres in the workplace was under way for this reason.
  • Research was also being carried out to examine the scientific evidence on banning asbestos in India.
  • Surveys in some silica-exposed industries showed silicosis prevalence of 12 to 54%.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that much more remains to be done to improve occupational health research. They recommended advanced research facilities, human resources development, environmental and occupational health cells, and a database and information system.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that overall national statistics on the incidence or prevalence of occupational disease and injuries in India are not available.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Occupational Disease, Silicosis, Pneumoconiosis, Obstructive Lung Disease.

Related studies

• Bilateral environmental and occupational health program with India — M. Allred, S. Campolucci, et al. (2003)
• The silence: the asbestos industry and early occupational cancer research--a case study — D.E. Lilienfeld (1991)
• Collaborative research, participatory solutions: research on asbestos in Kuruman, South Africa — N. Jacobs, S. Kisting, et al. (2004)
• Finnish Institute of Occupational Health Asbestos Program 1987-1992 — M.S. Huuskonen, K. Koskinen, et al. (1995)
• The International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and its influence on international organizations — N.A. Ashford, B. Castleman, et al. (2002)
• Occupational health in Australia — W.O. Phoon (1998)

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