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Med. Pr. 2003;54(4)

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES IN POLAND,2002 (p. 311-318)

SYTUACJA EPIDEMIOLOGICZNA W ZAKRESIE CHORÓB ZAWODOWYCH W POLSCE W ROKU 2002 (ss. 311-318)

Beata Pepłońska, Neonila Szeszenia-Dąbrowska, Wiesław Szymczak Z Zakładu Epidemiologii środowiskowej Instytutu Medycyny Pracy im. prof. J. Nofera w Łodzi

Abstract

Background. Since the year 1970 Institute of Occupational Medicine in Łódź has been carrying the registration of the occupational diseases in Poland. Annual analyses are performed providing valuable information on the health status of the workingpopulation and indirectly indicating the quality of the occupational environment as well as the effectiveness of the preventive actions undertaken. Methods. The paper shows the data of the Central Register of Occupational Diseases presenting the incidence in the year 2002. All cases of the occupational diseases reported to the Registry on the special individual form by the sanitary-hygienic stations were analyzed. The analyses were performed according to the disease entities, sex, age at the moment of the issue of the administrative decision on the occupational disease in worker, duration of exposure to occupational agents which caused the disease, by activity sections classified according to Polish Classification of the Economy, and by geographic regions of the country. For the calculations of the incidence rates the statistics on the number of workers employed in the national economy, according to the classification of the Central Statistical Office were applied. Results. In Poland, 4915 cases of occupational diseases were registered in 2002 with the incidence rate of 53.6 per 100 000 employees. The highest incidence rates were noted for seven groups of occupational diseases: vocal organ diseases due to an excessive voice effort (13.4 per 100 000 employees), noise-induced hearing loss (10.0), pneumoconioses (7.5), contagious and invasive diseases (7.5), dermatoses (3.5), chronic diseases of bronchi (2.5) and vibration syndrome (2.4). Most occupational diseases were induced by a long-term exposure to pathogenic factors occurring in the occupational environment.As much as 93.5%of these diseases were manifested after a 10-year exposure duration. The highest incidence levels were found to occur in forestry (707.65), mining and quarrying (348.46) in this coal mining (405.43), manufacture of metals (267.34), manufacture of transport equipment (156.08) and education (123.0). Occupational diseases in males made 60.5% of new cases. Conclusions. The data of the Registry indicate a decreasing number of the registered occupational diseases that could be observed in Poland since four years now. Four types of occupational diseases have accounted mostly for this decline: noise-induced hearing loss, chronic vocal organ diseases, contagious and invasive diseases, and dermatoses. The vocal organ diseases are the most frequently recorded with the highest incidence since the year 1997.

Key words

occupational diseases, registry