Occupational respiratory diseases in the Czech Republic

Our plain-English summary of Occupational respiratory diseases in the Czech Republic, by P. Brhel (Industrial Health, 2003).

The study

• Author: P. Brhel
• Journal: Industrial Health
• Published: 2003;41(2):121-3
• Cited by: 8 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

This paper presents the profile of occupational respiratory diseases in the Czech Republic. In a retrospective study the author analyzes structure, causes, occurrence, and trends of occupational diseases. Between 1996 and 2000, a total of 2,127 new cases were recorded, of which 62.0% were pneumoconioses caused by dust containing free silica, 21.0% were occupational asthma or allergic rhinitis and the rest were divided between lung cancer (10.0%), asbestos-related disorders (4.4%) and variety of other respiratory diseases (2.7%). During the period of the investigations, the decreasing trend of occupational respiratory diseases, which began in 1992, has continued.

In plain English

This report described occupational respiratory and pleural diseases recorded in the Czech Republic's national registry of occupational diseases from 1996 to 2000. Over those five years, 2,127 new cases were registered, about 20% of all occupational diseases, and yearly counts fell from 538 in 1996 to 359 in 2000. Pneumoconioses from dust containing free silica, including silicosis and coalworkers' pneumoconiosis, made up 62% of cases, with 932 arising in coal mining. Occupational asthma or allergic rhinitis accounted for 444 cases, and occupational lung cancer for 214, of which 203 were attributed to ionizing radiation in uranium miners. Asbestos-related disorders made up 4.4% of cases (94): 35 of asbestosis, 25 of diffuse malignant mesothelioma, 22 of pleural plaques or pleural thickening, and 12 of lung cancer. These patients had a mean age at diagnosis of 62 years and a mean exposure of 22 years. Their jobs included asbestos cement work, insulation and other construction work, heat-resistant textiles and brake lining production. The author considered the decline hard to interpret and believed the true number of cases is underestimated.

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: Retrospective descriptive survey of cases notified to a national occupational disease registry
• Who was studied: 2,127 new cases of occupational respiratory disease registered in the Czech Republic's National Registry of Occupational Diseases, 1996 to 2000
• Exposure: Various occupational agents, including free silica and coal dust, ionizing radiation (radon in uranium mines), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, allergens, and asbestos. Asbestos-related cases came from asbestos cement work, insulation and other construction work, heat-resistant textiles, and brake lining production. No fiber types are named.
• Main results:
  • Yearly new cases of occupational respiratory disease, 1996 to 2000: 538, 469, 387, 374 and 359
  • Pneumoconioses caused by dust containing free silica were 62% of all cases
  • 932 pneumoconiosis cases developed in coal mining
  • 203 cases of lung cancer (bronchogenic carcinoma) due to ionizing radiation were reported among uranium miners, 1996 to 2000
  • Asbestos-related disorders were 4.4% of all cases (94 cases)
  • The asbestos-related cases comprised 35 of asbestosis, 12 of lung cancer, 25 of diffuse malignant mesothelioma, and 22 of focal pleural plaques, pleural thickening or calcifications
  • Among people with asbestos-related diseases, mean age at diagnosis was 62 years and mean exposure duration was 22 years
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that reported occupational respiratory diseases declined over 1996 to 2000, that this decline is not simple to interpret, and that the true number of cases is underestimated.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Occupational lung cancer is probably under-diagnosed and under-reported
  • The decline may reflect fewer workers at risk or better workplace hygiene, but also reduced motivation of workers to report disease
  • Occupational chronic bronchitis is not compensated, so patients have little reason to have it registered

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Occupational Disease, Lung Cancer.

Related studies

• Occupational respiratory disease in mining — M.H. Ross, J. Murray (2004)
• Occupational and work-related respiratory disease attributed to cleaning products — M. Carder, M.J. Seed, et al. (2019)
• Relationships (I) of International Classification of High-resolution Computed Tomography for Occupational and Environmental Respiratory Diseases with the ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses for parenchymal abnormalities — T. Tamura, N. Suganuma, et al. (2015)
• Role of chest computed tomography in prevention of occupational respiratory disease: review of recent literature — D.N. Weissman (2015)
• SWORD '93. Surveillance of work-related and occupational respiratory disease in the UK — B.A. Sallie, D.J. Ross, et al. (1994)
• Trends in suspected and recognized occupational respiratory diseases in Germany between 1970 and 2005 — V. van Kampen, R. Merget, et al. (2008)

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